Psychology – Mental Disorders Project
Instructions:
1) You should choose TWO mental disorders to investigate
2) You should define the mental disorder (what the characteristics of this disorder)
3) You should explain why it fits the definition of a mental disorder (see definition below)
4) You should identify a famous person (living or dead) who suffers/suffered from this disorder
(don’t just give the person’s name, give a brief description of how the disorder affected their
life)
5) You need to pick a famous fairy tale and rewrite it in a way that illustrates a character or
characters that have the TWO mental disorders you chose
6) Pay attention to the requirements of the rubric (on the back of this page) and make sure you
staple the rubric to the top of the project.
Hints:
1) Here is a website that will provide a list of mental disorders to choose from:
http://allpsych.com/disorders/dsm.html (use the links on the left of the page)
2) The definition of a mental disorder is: Any behavior or emotional state that causes an
individual great suffering or worry, is self-defeating or self-destruction, or is maladaptive and
disrupts the person’s relationships or the larger community.
3) Examples of famous fairy tales include Hansel and Gretel, Goldilocks, Little Miss Muffett,
Humpty Dumpty, etc. There are many more.
4) Don’t be careless – spellcheck, use proper grammar, type your project and attach the rubric.
Name: _____________________________
Category
Mental Disorder #1
Definition
Mental Disorder #1
Qualification
Mental Disorder #1
Treatment
Mental Disorder #1
Celebrity
Mental Disorder #2
Definition
Mental Disorder #2
Qualification
Mental Disorder #2
Treatment
Mental Disorder #2
Celebrity
Fairy Tale Narrative
Mental Disorder #1
in Fairy Tale
Mental Disorder #2
in Fairy Tale
Project Mechanics
Mental Disorders Rubric (Attach to Front of Project)
Description
Student chose an accepted mental disorder from the
psychological community (like the DSM-IV); student
identifies the symptoms of this mental disorder
Student adequately explains how the mental disorder
they chose adequately fits the general description of
mental disorder provide in the project directions
Student identifies current treatments for the disorders,
hopefully from different perspectives (biological,
cognitive, learning, etc.)
Student identifies a famous person (living or dead) who
suffers or suffered from this disorder and briefly
describes how it affected that person’s life
Student chose an accepted mental disorder from the
psychological community (like the DSM-IV); student
identifies the symptoms of this mental disorder
Student adequately explains how the mental disorder
they chose adequately fits the general description of
mental disorder provide in the project directions
Student identifies current treatments for the disorders,
hopefully from different perspectives (biological,
cognitive, learning, etc.)
Student identifies a famous person (living or dead) who
suffers or suffered from this disorder and briefly
describes how it affected that person’s life
Student chose a well-known fairy tale and re-wrote in a
way that reflects the incorporation of the two mental
disorders; enough of the tale is written down that it
could be told as a stand-alone story (as if being read to
a small child at bedtime)
Student adequately incorporated the first mental
disorder they chose into the story to illustrate its effects
on a person
Student adequately incorporated the second mental
disorder they chose into the story to illustrate its effects
on a person
A minimum of spelling and grammar errors (RUN THE
SPELLCHECK); project is typed and this rubric is stapled
to the front of the project
TOTAL
Point Value
/ 5 POINTS
/ 5 POINTS
/ 5 POINTS
/ 5 POINTS
/ 5 POINTS
/ 5 POINTS
/ 5 POINTS
/ 5 POINTS
/ 15 POINTS
/ 5 POINTS
/ 5 POINTS
/ 5 POINTS
/ 70 POINTS