Questions and Topics We Can Help You To Answer:
Paper Instructions:
PSYC 281: Extra Credit Case Study:
Sheldon Cooper
The purpose of this extra credit activity is to have you apply knowledge gained from our course to a detailed case study in the form of a reaction paper. The case study follows these instructions.
Your written product will be FOUR (4) PAGES in length (typed double-spaced, using 12-point Times New Roman font and one-inch margins). You must use APA format as well. Do NOT use direct quotations, but rather use your own words in your responses. In your paper, BE CAREFUL TO ADDRESS ALL OF THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS IN RESPONSE TO THIS PARTICULAR CASE STUDY.
1. After reading the case study, would you diagnose Sheldon with a DSM disorder? If so, which disorder? What is your support for the diagnosis?
2. What disorder(s) would you rule out? In other words, what disorder(s) does Sheldon show symptoms of, but would he not qualify for a diagnosis?
3. According to the case study, what factors may have played a role in the development or maintenance of Sheldon’s symptoms?
4. What treatment would you recommend for Sheldon’s diagnosis? What symptoms should be targeted first?
5. Are there any situations in which Sheldon’s symptoms might actually be beneficial to his functioning?
When answering these questions and preparing your paper, include a citation for the article (see below) and at least 2 additional sources (your choice) to support your answers. Your textbook CANNOT serve as one of these additional sources.
Big Bang Theory Sheldon Cooper. (n.d.). Retrieved March 31, 2015 from http://the-big-bang-theory.com/characters.Sheldon/
Extra credit papers are due on the date listed on the syllabus and MUST be submitted through eCampus. Late papers will NOT be accepted. Printed copies of your paper will NOT be accepted, nor will copies submitted via email.
To submit your paper on eCampus, use the Turn It In link. Remember that when papers are submitted through Turn It In, they are checked for plagiarism using an electronic system. As an additional reminder, you are not permitted to submit a paper that you have submitted previously to any course, or a paper that someone else has submitted to this or any other course. All work needs to be your original work! Penalties will be applied for cases of plagiarism.
THIS EXTRA CREDIT ACTIVITY WILL BE WORTH UP TO 4 POINTS. POINTS WILL BE AWARDED BASED ON THE MERIT OF YOUR PAPER.
Sheldon Cooper is a Caltech theoretical physicist who shares an apartment with his colleague and best friend, Leonard Hofstadter. Originally from East Texas, Sheldon started college at the age of 11, receiving his first Ph.D. at the age of 16. Sheldon was involved in numerous experiments as a child genius, such as his plan to provide free electricity for his hometown by building a nuclear reactor - a plan stopped by the government due to irresponsible storage of uranium. Sheldon claims to be the perfect human specimen feels that the world does not give realize Sheldon’s full potential. Sheldon is characterized by a strict adherence to routine, such as questioning Leonard on how regular he is; an overly intellectual personality; a lack of understanding of irony, sarcasm and humor; and a general lack of humility or empathy, the former of which is demonstrated in the fact that he has no problem voicing to his peers his admiration for his superior intellect. While Sheldon lacks these qualities, he does attempt to gain a better grasp of empathy and understanding humor and sarcasm.
History
Sheldon was born in Galveston, Texas to Mary Cooper, and was born at the Lawrence Memorial Hospital in 1980. His father, George Cooper, died during Sheldon’s childhood. He has a twin sister named Missy and an older brother named George. Sheldon was raised according to his mother's Evangelical Christian beliefs. Meanwhile, he was forced to watch football by his father.
Sheldon was bullied a lot during his childhood, mostly because he constantly expressed intellectual superiority to his peers (as he does now.) While in grade school, Sheldon wrote papers entitled "A Proof That Algebraic Topology Can Never Have a Non-Self-Contradictory Set of Abelian Groups" and "A Rederivation of Maxwell’s Equations Regarding Electromagnetism". Sheldon entered college at the age of eleven, right after completing the fifth grade. When Sheldon was fourteen years old, he graduated college summa cum laude, began graduate school, and was the youngest person at the time to receive the Stevenson Award at "fourteen and a half." He received his first doctorate at the age of sixteen and he then spent four years on his second dissertation, before obtaining his current job.
Abnormal behaviors
Sheldon appears to have problems understanding societal laws at times. He has dropped objects out his window into traffic without any regard, in addition to breaking into buildings. He has also gone to various places, such as a kid's play-area, and even began working at the Cheesecake Factory without being granted permission. He has expertise with picking locks and disarming alarm systems. Furthermore, the Department of Homeland Security notifies his mother when he acts contrary to federal law. Homeland Security is familiar with him, and instead of arresting Sheldon after committing potential crimes, simply inform his mother and let her deal with him
The most notable feature of Sheldon's personality is his refusal to sit anywhere other than his designated spot on the far left cushion of the couch in his apartment, which he considers the perfect location in the apartment. Sheldon regularly reproaches Penny and other people for sitting in his spot. Even disruptions to this location are enough to disturb him, although he did allow Penny to sit in his spot on one occasion. As well as his designated spot in the apartment, if Sheldon is ever in a different area where he is going to sit down, such as Penny's apartment, he has to choose the best sitting location based on such things as optimal television viewing, lighting, airflow, and cushion density.
