Psychology – Assignment on the film “A Beautiful Mind”

Instructions: Watch the movie “A Beautiful Mind” and then choose ONE of the tasks below. Use your
knowledge from the Psychology Unit and your observations from the film to complete your response.
Your response for any option you choose should be 1.5 to 2 pages long. (15 pts)

1. Diagnosis of John Nash: Imagine you are a psychiatrist (or specifically, Dr. Rozen in the film).
Use the criteria for schizophrenia and your observations from scenes in the film, to create a
diagnosis of John Nash (focus specifically on events in the first half of the film up to the point
where Nash is diagnosed by Dr. Rozen).
 A brief account of Nash’s personal information (age, marital status, education, job, etc)
 Headings/subheadings for each of the criteria of schizophrenia
 Under each heading, detailed descriptions of which criteria he displays and which he
doesn’t, with specific references to scenes in the film
 Conclusion summarizing criteria/examples that support a positive diagnosis for
schizophrenia and making recommendations for treatment.
 Write in the voice of a doctor or the specific character of Dr. Rozen

2. Stress and Schizophrenia: Identify stages/incidents in John Nash’s life in which stress
helps trigger a schizophrenic episode, and describe them in detail. For each stage/incident:
 Identify and briefly describe the stage or incident in Nash’s life
 Describe the source or sources of stress
 Describe what Nash does and what happens to him as a result of the source of stress
 Describe the negative and positive consequences of the incident.
 Consider: How does the incident make the stress in Nash’s life worse? How does the
incident help Nash deal with the stress in his life?

3. What is Reality? People who have mental illnesses often experience reality in different ways
than people who are mentally “healthy”. Because of their different experiences, people who
are mentally ill are seen by others as abnormal, are diagnosed with conditions, and are often
marginalized from society. Yet for everyone, reality is hard to define. Considering this,
respond to the following questions in essay form.
 Is there one natural reality, or is reality defined by society?
 Is there such a thing as normal human behaviour, or is normal defined by society?
 Are a person’s inner thoughts real, or do they only become real when shared with others?
 Support your opinion by discussing at least major events/examples from the film.