Characters on the Couch

Dean Haycock

Providing intriguing insights for students, film buffs, and readers of various genres of fiction, this fascinating book delves into the psychology of 100 well-known fictional characters.Our favorite fictional characters from books and movies often display an impressive and wide range of psychological attributes, both positive and negative. We admire their resilience, courage, humanity, or justice, and we are intrigued by other characters who show signs of personality disorders and mental illness-psychopathy, narcissism, antisocial personality, paranoia, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia, among many other conditions. This book examines the psychological attributes and motivations of 100 fascinating characters that include examples of both accurate and misleading depictions of psychological traits and conditions, enabling readers to distinguish realistic from inaccurate depictions of human behavior.An introductory section provides a background of the interplay between psychology and fiction and is followed by psychological profiles of 100 fictional characters from classic and popular literature, film, and television. Each profile summarizes the plot, describes the character's dominant psychological traits or mental conditions, and analyzes the accuracy of such depictions. Additional material includes author profiles, a glossary of psychological and literary terms, a list of sources, and recommended readings.

Covers a wide range of behaviors and psychological disorders arranged in a convenient format, making it easy to find and learn about particular topics that can be read in or out of order

Foreword by Tara Deliberto, PhDPrefaceAcknowledgmentsIntroductionCharacter ProfilesPart 1: Mental and Personality Disorders1.Neurodevelopmental Disorders2. Psychotic Disorders3. Bipolar Disorder4.Depressive Disorders5.Anxiety Disorders6.Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder7.Trauma and Stress-Related Disorders8.Dissociative Disorders9.Somatic Symptoms10.Eating Disorders11.Sleep-Wake Disorder12.Gender Dysphoria13.Disruptive, Impulse Control, and Conduct Disorders14.Substance-Related and Addictive Disorders15.Neurocognitive Disorders16.Personality Disorders17.Paraphilic Disorders18.Other Disorders and SyndromesPart 2: Positive Psychological TraitsPart 3: Negative Psychological Traits and FeaturesPart 4: Emotional Instability/NeuroticismPart 5: Freudian ThemesPart 6: Psychologists in FilmsPart 7: Psychological Growth, Development, MaturityLoss, and AgingAppendix A: List of Characters and Their Psychological TraitsAppendix B: The VIA Classification of Character StrengthsGlossary of Psychological and Literary TermsSources and Recommended ReadingsIndex