PSYCH 14: Abnormal Psychology
Writing Assignment #1 (50 points)
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)
Grading:
This assignment is
50 points
total, with 10 points for each of the above questions, and 10 points for
overall writing quality and organization (e.g., spelling, grammar, comprehensibility, etc.).
Format:
– Your writing assignment must be typed and double-spaced
– Approximately 1.5 – 3 pages (these are not hard limits)
– This assignment is about your opinion, so you should avoid using quotes unless absolutely necessary