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1. Schizophrenia

2. Schizophrenia
(Psychology Basis)
Schizophrenia is probably the best-known mental disorder, though
people often mistakenly confuse it with multiple personality disorder.
Someone with multiple personality disorder has two or more
personalities that surface; she is still in touch with reality and able to
function. Someone with schizophrenia, on the other hand, often loses
touch with reality and is unable to carry out many daily activities.
Schizophrenia is rather difficult to define accurately as it varies in form
and sufferers do not have the exact same symptoms. Even so, mental
health professionals have come up with a list of common symptoms of
schizophrenia , the most prevalent of which are hallucinations and
delusions.

3. People with schizophrenia may experience:
Behavioral: social isolation, disorganized behavior, aggression, agitation,
compulsive behavior, excitability, hostility, repetitive movements, self-harm, or lack
of restraint
Cognitive: thought disorder, delusion, amnesia, belief that an ordinary event has
special and personal meaning, belief that thoughts aren't one's own,
disorientation, memory loss, mental confusion, slowness in activity, or false belief
of superiority
Mood: anger, anxiety, apathy, feeling detached from self, general discontent, loss of
interest or pleasure in activities, elevated mood, or inappropriate emotional
response
Psychological: hallucination, paranoia, hearing voices, depression, fear, persecutory
delusion, or religious delusion
Speech: circumstantial speech, incoherent speech, rapid and frenzied speaking, or
speech disorder

4. The Voices
(The Media – The Movie)
Jerry (Ryan Reynolds) is that chipper guy clocking the nine-to-five at a
bathtub factory, with the offbeat charm of anyone who could use a few
friends. With the help of his court-appointed psychiatrist, he pursues
his office crush (Gemma Arterton). However, the relationship takes a
sudden, murderous turn after she stands him up for a date. Guided by
his evil talking cat and benevolent talking dog, Jerry must decide
whether to keep striving for normalcy, or indulge in a much more
sinister path.

5. The Connection
(Between the psychology basis, schizophrenia and the movie)
The following scene will show various aspects of Jerry’s (Ryan Reynolds)
schizophrenia, where he has imaginary, although very real to him,
conversations with his animals, the cop that the TV reporter is
interviewing on the news, and the head of his victim that he kept in his
refrigerator.

7. The Behavioral Connection
Most of the movie consists of Jerry in social isolation in his living room with
this pets and severed head of his victim. Most scenes have him talking to his
pets and the head.
The aggression and agitation can be seen in the cat’s conversations and use
of foul language with Jerry. The cat says “F**k you, blaming on me!”

8. The Psychological Connection
Jerry exhibits the hallucination with the severed head and the animals all
talking to him.
His paranoia is demonstrated when he thinks the cop that the TV reporter is
interviewing is calling him out as a murderer. This scene also shows
persecutory delusion. Jerry imagines the cop singling him out saying while
pointing directly at him through the TV, “You hear that punk? You're a killer,
A serial killer!”
Jerry says, “I know right from wrong.” Clearly, he does not as he had just
killed the woman.

9. The Mood Connection
Jerry feels detached from himself when he blames the cat for his
negative behavior and says, “I feel like it wasn’t me.”
He also says, “I’m filled with terror and dread standing outside of
myself.”

10. References
The Everything Psychology Book, 2nd Edition, Kendra Cherry (2010),
page 234
The Voices Movie, (2014) with Ryan Reynolds
WebMD Website, Schizophrenia Symptoms, available at
https://www.webmd.com/schizophrenia/schizophrenia-symptoms#1