PSY 280 – PSYCHOLOGY IN FILM

PSY 280 – PSYCHOLOGY IN FILM – Revised 3/30/09

Spring, 2009

Monday 12-12:50 pm; Wednesday, 12-1:40 pm

Brooke J. Cannon, Ph.D.

Office Hours: My office is in the McGowan Center, #1030 (348-6211 x2324). The following are scheduled office hours. Other times are available by appointment. Any changes will be posted on my office door.

Monday 10-11 am Wednesday 10-11 am Thursday 10-11:30 am Friday 10-11:30 am

I use email frequently and it is the best way to communicate with me. All email related to the course will be sent to your official Marywood addresses only, so be sure to check it.

Objectives: After successful completion of this course, the student should have:

· an understanding of basic psychological principles related to human behavior across major fields of psychology;

· an awareness of the impact of popular film on society;

· the ability to critically evaluate the accuracy of portrayal of psychological topics in film;

· and, an appreciation for techniques used in film to illustrate psychological concepts.

Students with Disabilities: Marywood University complies with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. Students with disabilities who need special accommodations should advise the instructor and submit documentation of the disability at the Office of Disability Services, Liberal Arts Center 202, in order for reasonable accommodations to be granted. The Office of Disability Services will determine the appropriate accommodation and in cooperation with the instructor, will work to ensure that the student has a fair opportunity to perform in this class. To best service the needs of the student, he/she should notify the instructor and the Office of Disability Services of special accommodation needs by the last day to register for semester classes. Contact the Academic Excellence Center, LAC 202 (340-6045). More information is available at www.marywood.edu/disabilities/disabilityservices.html.

Required Materials: There is no required textbook. You will, however, be required to watch a total of 25 movies across the semester (at least one movie per week), complete worksheets, and read assigned readings. Lecture notes will be posted on the course website.

At least one copy of every movie is available for borrowing. Movies required for all students will be shown on Fridays and a copy will put on reserve in the library (after the showing, if a copy is not already on reserve). Movies required for each group will be borrowed from me, with some also on reserve in the library. It is up to the group to arrange how the movie will be viewed. You may watch it together, but analysis questions MUST be completed separately. Or, you must make arrangements for passing the movie among yourselves, ensuring that everyone sees it by the due date. Each week a different group member will be in charge of the DVD and the scheduling.

Depending upon the required movie, all movies can be seen by borrowing them from the library reserve (if available), watching the group copy borrowed from me, or attending the weekly showing. Of course, you could also purchase or rent them on your own.

PLAN AHEAD: It is best not to watch the group required movie before the topic is covered in class; the group required movie is best viewed AFTER the lecture on the topic, so that you can effectively complete the film analysis questions. This will give you at least five days to see it. If you must watch it ahead, take good notes on the movie. ~~Movies required for ALL students must be viewed BEFORE the lecture on the topic.~~ If you have already seen a movie, watch it again.

Movies on Reserve: Some movies will be on reserve in the library. These must not leave the library. You can watch them on a computer (headphones available in the computer labs) or request to watch them in the media lab. A few are on VHS tape and, obviously, must be watched in the media lab.

Purchasing Movies: Buying movies ahead will remove the possibility of not being able to get the movie when you need it. Amazon.com typically has great prices on DVDs and some downloadable movies. Blockbuster.com also sells new and used DVDs, as well as downloads. If you chose to purchase all the required movies that are not available on reserve in the library, it would most likely cost you about the same as a textbook, or even less if you luck into DVD sales.

Renting Movies: It might be worth your while to sign up for Blockbuster by mail or Netflix and to queue up your movies to have them when you need them. Personally, I have a Blockbuster Total Access Premium account ($19.99 per month) which allows me to have 3 movies mailed out to me at a time and each of those movies can be turned in to a Blockbuster store for a movie from the store, at which time the next movie is immediately mailed out. Here’s a link comparing Blockbuster and Netflix plans: https://www.blockbuster.com/signup/planCompareOverlay

Attending Weekly Movie Showing: One required movie per topic, and one double feature, will be shown each week school is in session on Fridays (with the exception of the last Friday) at noon in the regular classroom (MD 160). See course schedule.

REQUIREMENTS:

1. Examinations (30&percnt;; each): There will be a midterm and a final examination covering material in the assigned readings, lecture notes, required movies, and lecture. Format will be objective test items and short answer. Should an emergency necessitate a make-up exam, the resulting raw score will determine the grade; that is, the student will not benefit from the modified curve based on class performance. Therefore, there is a distinct advantage to taking the exam as scheduled.

2. Film Analyses (40&percnt;): Across the semester, you will complete 10 sets of film analysis questions related to your assigned movies. These will be posted on the course website on or before the date the topic is covered in class. These analyses are to be completed in Microsoft Word and then returned electronically by noon on the due date (typically 5 days later). Turn it in on time - the grade will be reduced by 5&percnt; for each day that it is late. These are to be completed INDEPENDENTLY (see paragraph below re academic dishonesty).

GRADING: Assignments will be graded for content and quality, according to the essential components of each requirement. Grading of exams will be based on a modified “curve,” with the top grade on each exam determining the “A,” or 100&percnt;. The A range will be from 95-100&percnt;, A- range from 90-94&percnt;; B+ range from 87-89&percnt;; B range from 83-86&percnt;; B- range from 80-82&percnt;; C+ range from 77-79&percnt;; C from 73-76&percnt;; C- from 70-72&percnt;; D+ from 67-69&percnt;; D from 63-66&percnt;; and F<63&percnt;.

PLAGIARISM/ACADEMIC DISHONESTY WILL NOT BE TOLERATED: Any written or orally presented material must be in your own words, with appropriate citation for the proper paraphrasing of another’s work. Any direct quotes from another source must be designated with quotation marks and cited according to the most recent APA Publication Manual; also see this manual for additional information about plagiarism. Direct quotation should be minimal, i.e., no more than a few words or phrases which cannot be paraphrased adequately. Any assignment completed through plagiarism or other form of academic dishonesty will result in a failed grade on the assignment and formal charge of academic dishonesty (for the University policy, see http://cwis.marywood.edu/www2/policy/4Academic/AcademicHonesty.html).

NOTE: Some of the movies you will be required to view may contain instances of violence, minor sexual content, and/or foul language as would be consistent with an R rating. If this is offensive, or if you are otherwise unable to view such movies, please discuss this with me no later than 1/20/09, the last day to withdraw from the course with full tuition refund, to determine if there is a possible accommodation.

Required Readings: (all are available in the library’s full text electronic holdings or online, if link provided below. I will also put copies on reserve in the library.):

Bandura, A., Ross, D., & Ross, S., (1961). Transmission of aggression through imitation of aggressive models. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 63, 575-582.

http://psychclassics.yorku.ca/Bandura/bobo.htm

Bischoff, R. J., & Reiter, A. D. (1999). The role of gender in the presentation of mental health professionals in the movies: Implications for clinical practice. Psychotherapy: Theory, Research, Practice, and Training, 36, 180-189.

Cape, G. S. (2003). Addiction, stigma, and movies. Acta Scandinavica, 107, 163-169.

Lampropoulos, G. K., Kazantzis, N., & Deane, F. (2004). Psychologists’ use of motion pictures in clinical practice. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 35, 535-541.

Lawson, A. & Fouts, G. (2004). Mental illness in Disney animated films. Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 49, 310-314.

Milgram, S. (1963). Behavioral study of obedience. Journal of Abnormal and Social Pychology, 67, 371-378.

Renner, K. (2006). Repeat viewings revisited: Emotions, memory, and “Memento.” Film Studies, 8, 106-115.

Rest, J. R., Narvaez, D., Thoma, S. J., & Bebaeu, M. J. (2000). A neo-Kohlbergian approach to morality research. Journal of Moral Education, 29, 381-395.

Robinson, T., Callister, M., Magoffin, D., & Moore, J. (2007). The portrayal of older characters in Disney animated films. Journal of Aging Studies, 21, 203-213.

Sedney, M. A. (2002). Maintaining connections in children’s grief narratives in popular film. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 72, 279-288.

Szasz, T. (2000). Curing the Therapeutic State: Thomas Szasz on the medicalization of American life. REASON Online . http://www.reason.com/0007/fe.js.curing.html

Wahl, O., Wood, A., Zaveri, P., Drapalski, A., & Mann, B. (2003). Mental illness depiction in children’s films. Journal of Community Psychology, 31, 553-560.

Wedding, D., & Niemiec, R. M. (2003). The clinical use of films in psychotherapy. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 59, 207-215.

PROPOSED COURSE SCHEDULE:

[Any alterations from this schedule will be discussed in class.]

Dates	Topic	Reading	Movies/Assignment
1/12, 14	Class introduction; History of Film
1/16	*The Woodsman*
1/19	Themes	Bandura et al.
1/21	Impact	Lampropoulos et al.	ALL – The Woodsman
1/23	*The Squid and the Whale*
1/26	Impact Discussion		“A” movie Worksheet A due by noon
1/28	Developmental CLASS CANCELLED DUE TO WEATHER	Robinson et al.; Sedney ~~Waterman~~
1/30	*Rashomon*
2/2	Developmental Discussion		ALL – The Squid and the Whale “B” movie Worksheet B due by noon
2/4	Social Psychology	Milgram Rest et al.
2/6	*The Caine Mutiny*
2/9	Social Discussion		ALL – Rashomon “C” movie Worksheet C due by noon
2/11	Personality Disorders
2/13	*Fearless*
2/16	Personality Disorders Discussion		ALL – The Caine Mutiny “D” movie Worksheet D due by noon
2/18	Stress Disorders, Depression, and Search for Meaning
2/20	*A Beautiful Mind*
2/23	Depression Search for Meaning Discussion		ALL – Fearless “E” movie Worksheet E due by noon
2/25	Midterm
3/2	NO CLASS – SPRING BREAK
3/4	NO CLASS – SPRING BREAK
3/9	Psychotic Disorders	Szasz
3/11	Psychotic Disorders, cont.	Lawson & Fouts Wahl
3/13	*Sybil*
3/16	Psychotic Disorders Discussion		ALL - A Beautiful Mind “F1” movie “F2” movie Worksheet F due by noon
3/18	Dissociative Disorders
3/20	*Cinemania* and *Pickpocket* (double feature J)
3/23	Dissociative Disorders Discussion		ALL – Sybil “G” movie Worksheet G due
3/25	Obsessive-Compulsive Behaviors
3/27	*Memento*
3/30	Obsessive-Compulsive Behaviors Discussion		ALL – Cinemania/Pickpocket “H” movie Worksheet H due
4/1	Memory and Addictions	Cape Renner
4/3	*Lars and the Real Girl*
4/6	Memory/Addictions Discussion		ALL - Memento “I” movie Worksheet I due
4/8	Mental Illness Treatment	Bischoff & Reiter
4/13	NO CLASS – EASTER BREAK
4/15	Ethics in Mental Health Treatment	Wedding & Niemiec
4/17	*Vertigo*
4/20	Mental Health Treatment Discussion		ALL - Lars and the Real Girl “J1” movie “J2” movie Worksheet J due by noon
4/22	Hitchcock		SEE NOTE AT BOTTOM OF SYLLABUS RE HITCHCOCK MOVIES
4/24	No movie showing
4/27	Hitchcock’s Vertigo Discussion		ALL – Vertigo
5/1	Final Exam at noon		Take home assignment on Hitchcock movie due.

Group 1

Group 2

Group 3

Philip Arnold

parnold@m.marywoood.edu

Ann Marie Coar

ancoar@m.marywood.edu

Martin Dull

mdull@m.marywood.edu

Mikhail Attong

mattong@m.marywood.edu

Mary Crespo

mcrespo@m.marywood.edu

William Gordon

wgordon@m.marywood.edu

Mariela Bakieva

mbakieva@m.marywood.edu

Christopher Deemie

cdeemie@m.marywood.edu

Bradley Hendricks

bhendricks@m.marywood.edu

Amanda Blaker

ablaker@m.marywood.edu

John Domider

jdomider@m.marywood.edu

Lauren Hubert

lhubert@m.marywood.edu

Anthony Bui

abui@m.marywood.edu

Nancy Edelman

nedelmann@m.marywood.edu

Amber Carichner

acarichner@m.marywood.edu

Heather Fitch

hfitch@m.marywood.edu

Group 4

Group 5

Benjamin Nogan

bnogan@m.marywood.edu

Lauren Tenbus

ltenbus@m.marywood.edu

Kristin Powers

kpowers@m.marywood.edu

Alison Trautmann

atrautmann@m.marywood.edu

Victoria Rites

vrites@m.marywood.edu

Antoinette Tucci

atucci@m.marywood.edu

Colin Seymour

cseymour@m.marywood.edu

Mary Turek

mturek@m.marywood.edu

Stephanie Shotwell

sshotwell@m.marywood.edu

Kelly Ufkin

kufkin@m.marywood.edu

Jessica Smallwood

jsmalllwood@m.marywood.edu

Angela Woody

awoody@m.marywood.edu

VIEWING SCHEDULE - I suggest that you highlight your group’s column

Code refers to syllabus topic; length of movie is in parentheses (minutes); movies in bold are shown on Fridays (see course schedule); L indicates on reserve in the library.

Must be seen by:

Code

Group 1

Group 2

Group 3

Group 4

Group 5

1/26

A-1

The Woodsman (87)

1/26

A-2

Bowling for Columbine

(120) L

Sicko

(123) L

Fahrenheit 911 (122)

Super Size Me (100) L

Thank You for Smoking

(92)

2/2

B-1

The Squid and the Whale

(81) L

The Squid and the Whale

(81) L

The Squid and the Whale

(81) L

The Squid and the Whale

(81) L

The Squid and the Whale

(81) L

2/2

B-2

Breakfast Club (97) L

Thumbsucker (96)

Thirteen

(100)

Rocket Science

(101)

Stand By Me

(89)

2/9

C-1

Rashomon

(88)

Rashomon

(88)

Rashomon

(88)

Rashomon

(88)

Rashomon

(88)

2/9

C-2

Crash

(112) L

The Ox-Bow Incident

(75)

12 Angry Men

(96) L

Life Boat

(96)

Beautiful People

(107)

2/16

D-1

The Caine Mutiny

(124) L

The Caine Mutiny

(124) L

The Caine Mutiny

(124) L

The Caine Mutiny

(124) L

The Caine Mutiny

(124) L

2/16

D-2

Adaptation

(114)

Fatal Attraction (119)

To Die For

(106)

Sunset Boulevard

(110)

All About Eve

(138)

2/23

E-1

Fearless

(122) L

Fearless

(122) L

Fearless

(122) L

Fearless

(122) L

Fearless

(122) L

2/23

E-2

American Splendor

(101)

Ordinary People

(124)

The Hours

(114)

Little Miss Sunshine

(101)

The Weather Man

(101) L

3/16

F-1

A Beautiful Mind

(135)

A Beautiful Mind

(135)

A Beautiful Mind

(135)

A Beautiful Mind

(135)

A Beautiful Mind

(135)

3/16

F-2

Spider

(98)

Canvas

(101)

Revolution #9

(90)

Shine

(105)

Clean, Shaven (79)

3/16

F-3

Canvas

(101)

Clean, Shaven

(79)

Shine

(105)

Revolution #9

(90)

Spider

(98)

Must be seen by:

Code

Group 1

Group 2

Group 3

Group 4

Group 5

3/23

G-1

Sybil

(133) L

Sybil

(133) L

Sybil

(133) L

Sybil

(133) L

Sybil

(133) L

3/23

G-1

The Snake Pit

(108)

Three Faces of Eve

(91)

Me, Myself, and Irene

(116)

Primal Fear

(129)

Nurse Betty

(110)

3/30

H-1

Cinemania

(83) and Pickpocket

(72)

Cinemania

(83) and Pickpocket

(72)

Cinemania

(83) and Pickpocket

(72)

Cinemania

(83) and Pickpocket

(72)

Cinemania

(83) and Pickpocket

(72)

3/30

H-2

The Odd Couple (105)

Matchstick Men

(116)

Dirty Filthy Love

(120)

The Aviator

(170) L

As Good As It Gets

(139) L

4/6

I-1

Memento

(113)

Memento

(113)

Memento

(113)

Memento

(113)

Memento

(113)

4/6

I-2

Rounders

(121)

50 First Dates

(99)

Lost Weekend

(101)

Requiem for a Dream

(102)

Safe House

(112)

4/20

J-1

Lars and the Real Girl

(106) L

Lars and the Real Girl

(106) L

Lars and the Real Girl

(106) L

Lars and the Real Girl

(106) L

Lars and the Real Girl

(106) L

4/20

J-2

Analyze This

(103)

The Prince of Tides

(132)

Antwone Fisher

(120)

What About Bob?

(99)

Good Will Hunting

(126)

4/20

J-3

K-Pax

(120)

One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest

(133) L

Girl, Interrupted

(127)

Cosi

(100)

Lilith

(114)

4/27

K-1

Vertigo

(128)

Vertigo

(128)

Vertigo

(128)

Vertigo

(128)

Vertigo

(128)

NOTE: THERE IS NO WORKSHEET FOR HITCHCOCK. ONLY VERTIGO WILL BE DISCUSSED DURING THE HITCHCOCK DISCUSSION CLASS.

PART OF YOUR FINAL EXAM WILL BE A TAKE HOME ASSIGNMENT GIVEN TO YOU ON 4/22/09. YOU MAY DISREGARD YOUR PRIOR GROUP ASSIGNMENT (NOTE THAT REAR WINDOW HAS BEEN DROPPED AS AN OPTION FOR THIS ASSIGNMENT). ALL STUDENTS ARE TO SELECT THEIR HITCHCOCK MOVIE FROM ONE OF THE FOLLOWING:

PSYCHO (109) (IN LIBRARY)

MARNIE (130)

STRANGERS ON A TRAIN (101) (IN LIBRARY)

SPELLBOUND (111)