PSYCH 14: Abnormal Psychology
Writing Assignment #1
Society’s Views on Mental Health
We have discussed the stigmatization of mental health issues and you have had the opportunity to evaluate the representation of clinical psychology in the media. For this assignment, you will be asked to discuss and share your own opinions on the topic, as well as offer suggestions for improvement. You should not have to conduct any outside research or reading for this assignment, but it does ask you to take a minute and really think about some of the issues. I encourage you to take enough time to do so.
This is NOT a traditional essay, you do not need (nor should you have) an introduction, conclusion, title page, etc. Instead, think of this as 4 short-answer questions, and your writing assignment should reflect that by numbering your responses as follows:
1. Overall, what do you think the average American’s opinion/attitude is of psychological disorders in general? How knowledgeable do you think they are about mental health? Where do they receive their information, and how does that shape their opinion? Can you think of any examples?
2. At the beginning of the semester, before we talk about any in depth… what do you feel are some of the most stigmatized disorders in society? Why do you think they have such a strong stigma compared to other mental disorders?
3. Conversely, some disorders are seen as more “socially acceptable” and have far less stigma. What do you feel some of the non-stigmatized disorders are? Why do you think they are not stigmatized as much?
4. Putting this all together, how do you think we can reduce the stigma of the disorders you discussed in question #2? Overall, how do we get mental health in general to be more accepted and understood by society? Have there been any significant influences on your own way of viewing mental health that helped?
Note:
This is intended to be a short (and hopefully fun) thought exercise. Since these questions are asking for your opinion, there is not necessarily a right or wrong answer. Instead, your answers will be evaluated by the completeness of your responses , and the reasoning you display. (e.g., saying “they are all stigmatized” or “none are socially acceptable” are NOT well thought out, reasoned responses)
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