Paul Bateman, And Narcissistic Personality Disorder In The Movie

According to the article Modernity and Narcissistic Personality Disorder (2014) by Joel Paris, narcissistic personality disorder is a pathological amplification of narcissistic traits. This means that unlike a normal person, the traits in a narcissistic person that defines their personality are usually increased from a 1 to a 10. They are always the “self-absorbed” guy in the crowd.

In the Movie, American Psycho, Patrick Bateman demonstrate challenges to identify his unique type of personality theories. The purpose of this essay is to review a selected film as a Psychology student, and discuss it from a psychological perspective. Also in this paper providing a diagnosis for a character in the movie and discuss the behaviors that support the selected diagnosis, and to explain and discuss the mental illness depicted in the film.

The fourth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistics Manual describes personality disorders as being a pattern of enduring behavior and internal experiences that tends to digress a significant amount from the individual’s cultural and societal standards (Sadock, Kaplan & Sadock, 2015). This personality disorder is diagnosed in the presence of grandiosity and the need to be admired and appreciated. There is a chronic lack of empathy as well as inflated self-esteem and the belief that one is entitled to the adoration of others. Narcissistic Personality Disorder is classified under Cluster B, showcasing more erratic and emotional behavior which can be seen in the film American Psycho.

Fifty years ago, a person breaking the law would either be called crazy or a criminal. Today, the mental health community has much more specific diagnoses. However, the explanation of certain behaviors may be difficult because there is much overlap among mental conditions. In Bret Easton Ellis’ American Psycho, the protagonist, Patrick Bateman, is apparently simply a psychopath. However, Bateman can be diagnosed with other mental illnesses such as Asperger’s syndrome, obsessive-compulsive disorder, schizophrenia, narcissism, and antisocial personality disorder. In both the book and film adaptation, Bateman’s actions can be understood more accurately when analyzed in light of modern psychology.

Antisocial personality disorder (APD or ASPD) is a mental disorder in which a person’s approach in any given situation as well as his style of thinking is neglecting towards others. People with this disorder are commonly known as psychopaths or sociopaths. An individual with APD shows empathy and disregards people’s thoughts and feelings. Those with APD can be characterized as morally reprehensible. They are the ones that seem to say all of the “right” things. Antisocial personality disorder, in contrary to

Narcissism is defined as the love of ones self. Sigmund Freud was the first to use the word to characterize certain character traits. He got the word from the Greek mythological legend Narcissus who saw his reflection in water and fell in love with himself. Freud suggests that all of us have a bit of self love, but when self love goes extreme it can be a problem and is considered a pathological problem. Nora from “The Doll House,” only exuded narcissistic behavior because she was treated like a doll. She was spoiled and only thought that that was how she was supposed to behave in order to get what she wanted or to please the men in her

Narcissism personality disorder according to DSM-V is (and now also in Section II of DSM-5) describe “a pervasive pattern of grandiosity (in fantasy or behavior), need for admiration, and lack of empathy . . .,” indicated by five or more of the following: (a) a grandiose sense of self-importance; (b) preoccupation with fantasies of unlimited success, power, brilliance, beauty, or ideal love; (c) beliefs of being special and unique; (d) requirements of excessive admiration; (e) a sense of entitlement; (f) interpersonal exploitativeness; (g) lack of empathy; (h) envy of others; and (i) arrogant, haughty behaviors or attitudes. Narcissism has been around or studied for thirty years. Rosenfeld thought that that his client had invented an alter ego at first. In the article what part do narcissism play in the narcissistic disorder? It talk about narcissistic disorder arise when an ego-destructive super ego has arisen in the course of development. The article talks about that trauma as a child or infant may also play a big part of narcissism. A large part of narcissistic disorder comes from a wide range of symptoms like self-enhancing and self-serving incentives. (Elsa Ronningstam) described a 21 none year old client that she treated, his parents brought him in to see her and they described him as selfish, inconsiderate, demanding, and demeaning, with threatening and verbally aggressive behavior, and involved in poly substance abuse (pp 434-438). Bob his self-admitted that some

Narcissistic Personality Disorder is a mental disorder in which people have an inflated sense of their own importance and a deep need for admiration. Narcissistic Personality Disorder, also known as narcissism, dates back to ancient Greece. The term Narcissism comes from an old Greek myth of a young hunter named Narcissus. He was from the territory of Thespiae in Boeotia who was renowned for his beauty. He was the son of a river god named Cephissus and a nymph named Liriope. He was exceptionally proud, in that he disdained those who loved him. One day Narcissus was walking in the woods when Echo, an Oread, or mountain nymph, saw him, fell deeply in love, and followed him. Narcissus sensed he was being followed and shouted “Who’s there?”. Echo

To be considered antisocial is to isolate oneself from general social conditions and demonstrate behaviors that deviate from the social societal norm. Antisocial Personality disorder describes an individual that lacks values and habitually violates societal standards in regards to ethics and social behavior. Individuals with this disorder can be described to lack empathy, act impulsively, and have flagrant disregard for other people. It is hard for them to form engage in positive social exchanges or maintain relationships with others. It was only until the early twentieth century that Antisocial Personality disorder was named. Previously, these individuals were categorized as psychopaths due to the thrill-seeking and cunning nature of their actions. Psychopaths have the ability to change their personalities to ultimately get what they desire then revert back to a malicious, egocentric state. When faced with a dangerous adventure, for those with ASPD the choice will always be to peruse the danger. This is due to a constant underlying feeling of restlessness (Nolen-Hoeksema, 2011, p. 272). Although these traits can be deemed “psychopathic” this disorder is not only seen in those who have established themselves as violent criminals, but in those who have established as high-ranking members in society. How can this disorder differentiate itself so starkly within people? Although there are no direct medical test to diagnose this disorder,

The main features of anti-social personality disorder are a continual disregard and/or violation for the rights of others, controlling or manipulative behavior, and deceit. Patients with anti-social personality disorder also tend to be impulsive, emotionally unstable, suspicious, hostile, self-absorbed, grandiose, blame others for their problems, and have attention deficiencies.

The crucial characteristic of antisocial personality disorder is repeated lack of concern for and violation of the rights of others. Other core features of this disorder are manipulation and deceit. The antisocial person feels no remorse for hurting others. They may become irritable and aggressive. People with antisocial personality disorder lack responsibility and fail to plan ahead.

“I feel lethal, on the verge of frenzy. I think my mask of sanity is about to slip" (Harron) thought Patrick Bateman as he contemplated his growing feelings of emptiness and need for bloodlust. American psycho is the story of a greedy, materialistic, self obsessed businessman who transforms into an unstable and violent sociopath. Abnormal behavior can be defined by four patterns deviance, distress, dysfunction, and danger (Comer 2). Deviance is exhibited as unusual, or extreme behavior. Throughout the movie, Bateman was very blunt and would casually say violent, graphic comments. The only time Bateman experienced distress was towards the end of the movie when he couldn’t stop killing. He began to panic, called his lawyer to confess, and didn’t go into work. However, most of the time Bateman said he enjoyed the rush of a kill. Typically, abnormal behavior interferes with the person's ability to conduct daily activities (Comer 2). As a result of Bateman’s abnormalities he could not sustain a healthy relationship. The most extreme characteristic of Batemans abnormal behavior was that it caused him to put others in danger.

Antisocial personality disorders are immense, and psychopaths and sociopaths are just two of the various personality disorders. An antisocial personality disorders is defined as, “a type of chronic mental condition in which a person's ways of thinking, perceiving situations and relating to others are dysfunctional — and destructive.” (Mayo Clinic Staff). Sociopaths are a direct correlation to antisocial personality

Individuals with an Antisocial Personality Disorder show a lack of concern toward the expectations and rules of society and usually frequently become involved in at

Imagine waking up in the morning, believing that one has the right to do what he wants and take what he can, from whomever and wherever. The day will be filled with callous, deceitful, violent, reckless and endangering acts to which one is immune to the pain others may suffer (Antisocial personality part 1, 2000). This is how a person with anti-social personality disorder behaves daily. In this paper, the topic of Anti-social personality disorder, its definitions, causes, symptoms, and treatments will be discussed.