202 Reaction questions, November 16, 2004

Work on these questions when you are done with your quiz. The answers are due in your discussion section this week. Please write legibly and use proper spelling and grammar, including complete sentences!

1. To a varying extent, mental illness is relative to a particular context or setting. Describe a behavior that you engage in that might be considered an indication of mental illness under one set of circumstances, but that you believe you do for reasons other than mental illness.

2. In what ways does labeling someone as having a mental disorder result in outcomes similar to those that occur when we label a person as a criminal? How does labeling negatively impact the effects of mental illness?

3. In our culture, people with schizophrenia are seeing as being "crazy" but in some other cultures, they are seen as having special powers. What patterns of behavior or mental conditions are revered in OUR culture, but might be seen as mental illness in another culture? Explain why this "condition" is not "crazy" in our culture, but might be seen as such in other cultures.