1980_04 The Daily Collegian April 1980

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Schizophrenia a kind
of nonconformity
by MWiael Miyamoto
To" label a person a schizophrenic is
to attach a stigma of inferiority and
faultineea that often times results in the
need for years of therapy.   -
And that therapy usually entails treat¬
ment in the way of "segregation, isola-
tion and degradation,' a professor emer¬
itus of peryriology recently said.
Dr. Theodore Sarbin, psychology
professor at both the universities of
Santa Cruz and Berkeley, said schizo¬
phrenia is a brand of nonconformity that
they are labeled with, sometimes for the
mosterroneoue of reasons, he said.
. For those people that know virtually
little of the psychological aspects of
schizophrenia, the word is but a meta¬
phor which is often associated with
people who commit the most harmless
of acta, but yet are institutionalized,
simply because those people's actions
are 'unsettling or uncomfortable to
them.*
The 'often tones unlimited use of the
. word schizophrenia has 'perhapsgrown
cribe unusual behavior, Has
crown to the proportions of a myth -
. "Schizophrenia, aa a myth may be dying,
but it may require a little help from some
of us to limit the artifice! resusitation
.   that is going on," Sarbin said.
"When people deal'with scientific
ideas,, they saxmethrsm apply metaphors
when they don't understand what that
something means. Schizophrenia is one
such word,* Sarbin said.
The "**swieh~- imljmifawl use of the
■   word schzophrenia has perhaps grown
to such proportions that its meaning
borders on a mythical interpretation of
the word, Sarbin said.
What does Sarbin mean by a myth?
"A myth is a story—we live by stories.
A myth arises ss a result of a failure to
recognize the use of a metaphor. If a
strange or unusual act occurs, people
will sometimes use metaphors to des¬
cribe it. It becomes so common that it
becomes a way of talking about some¬
thing, "Sarbin said.
Sarbin's claims are backed up in
experiments.
In a series of 374 experiments recor¬
ded in a journal of which Sarbin des¬
cribes as having the 'highest rejection
rate of any in the country,* he said is 96
of the studies 'small differences were
present in the behavior between sch-
zoids and non-schzoids.
Teste were conducted between institu-
ionsKxed schizophrenics and a control
group of Mc-achzoids, evaluating motor,
perceptual and reaction skills as well as
a number of other variables.
"In all 874, none of the studies re¬
vealed any significant differences be¬
tween srhaxads and non-echzoids to
make any kind of an evaluation," Sarbin
said. .
So how do so many people become in-
stntitfcwemwd aa schzoids, thus perpet-
uting the nryth-metaphor idea?
'The myth ia sustained if it serves the
purpose of those who hold power," Sar-
binssid. /
Value judgements are to be made,
Sarbin said, adding that the person
doing the evaluating will sometimes let
his own befiefs and attitudes about what
is 'proper and adequate come into play,"
.    T-et poetry or delusion.? Is his action
VsillitltitriV. .      \     ,
"or behavior acceptable,? Sarbin said,
adding that these prior thoughts are
roost often a determinant of whether a
personis institutionalized or not.
'From the study, they discovered a
variation of 'presenting symptoms'
almost aa great as the number of people
involved. The 'presenting symptoms''
covered a wide variety of acts. But one
common set waa that relatives, neigh-
bore, or police found the acts or behavior
to ha rmeewtlmn; snH meiwiiM. ' Sarbin
said.    •■
Once the justice system is involved,
Sarbin said, again Judgements and eval¬
uations are made by thoee unaccustomed
to psychology.
"The purpose of diagnosis is to deter¬
mine whether that person will Ipse his
liberty or not.. And most judges have
people committed by relying on a psych¬
ologist for information." said Sarbin.
"But the average length to time a
resident spends with a patient is two
minutes. They will often times try not to
find a cure. And the T'«mt usually
describes some sort of unwanted be¬
havior that the relative doesn't like."
Meet judges and court systems usually
will make moral judgements as opposed
to value judgements, Sarbin said.
'Most judges sre not engaged in
evaluations' dealing with science but
rather decisions da-Bng with social
service. The independent variable in
this case was the evaluation by the jud¬
ges and almost always evaluations were
based on the complaints of other people
who get them there, * Sarbin said.
Rarely are 'hidden variables' brought
up in court cases or by institutions
A multimedia tribute to Haxpo Marx will be presented by Les Msrderosian Sun¬
day through Tuesdajin the College Union Lounge at 8:15 p.m.
Marderosian, a 1978 CSUF graduate, recently wrote, directed and starred in Us
one-man ahow, "Love Me and the World 1. Mine: A Tribute to Harpo Man.*
After receiving penrdsrion from Harpo 'a wife sad family, Marderosian sought to
compare the familiar screen image of Harpo with his reallife personality. He sup-
the mtangfbles that concern the indivi- ■ plementa the play's dialogue with a slide prestation, of .tills, footage from Marx
dual's present nature and whether fears    Brothers films and movies, adding film footage of himself ea Harpo
Marderosian plays s mmute-ssd-s-hsU harp sob ia the show. He took lessons,
and then was taught to play the instrument like Harpo did by the .Ur's son, Bill.
M ardrroaian haa been invited to take his play to the prestigious Edinburgh Fes-
tival in August. His pretMntations here are benefit, to aaeriat the CSUF Theatre Arts
Department in raising funds to attend the Sc^tiah festival.
Co-sponsored by the College Union Program Office and the CSUF Department
of Theatre Arts, tickets sre $2 for CSUF students sad $3 for non-atodents Tickets
are available at the CU information desk.
exist and cognitive skills and cognitive
intelligence.
And a common occurence is that sch¬
zoids are often regarded as something
unfit for society.
'To be schzoid, is to be bad, faulty,
inferior, or not normal," Sarbin said.
Its a cause and effect relationship,
Sarbin said, and as such, decisions about
a person's future well-being should not
be judged to those unaccustomed to
handling such cases.
'This is something not for mental
people to decide or even moHiral people,
but for people to decide,* Sarbin said.
"This does not mean that people don't
commit acts that are bizarre, unpredic-
Youngman, Rhythm Aces
slated for Vintage Days
Henry 'Take My Wife, Please'
Youngman and the Amazing Rhythm
Aces headline the entertainment sche-
Daily Collegian
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table, perplexing or even embarassing. duled for Vintage Days this year.
Some people might have a neutral or
even positive evaluation of such acts,*
Sarbin said, adding that before any kind
of assessment is made, the person com¬
mitting the act and the person making
the judgement should be considered,
Ssrbfnssid.
"We should know both because both
are involved,* Sarbin said.
Nicaragua benefit
A benefit for the reconstruction of
Nicaragua will be held tomorrow at
7 p.m. at 826 N. Van Ness. The program
will include a slide show, revolutionary
poster art exhibit, and Latin music and   of Vintage Days, described Spanky as'
dancing. a mellow group similar to the Mamas
Sponsored by the Nicaraguan People and the Papas, and Cedho and Kapono,
Solidarity Committee of Fresno/Visalia, who are making a return to Fresno
all proceeds will be sent for medical as a Hawaiian mellow rock pair The
•"PP"**1-.. '  .  '.        Fools as a New York-based rock band.
Joining Youngman in a 'Friday
Night Live" four-act show sre Mark
McCollum, who does impersonations
ranging form Buuwinlde to Led Zeplin,
magician Ricky Jay, and new comic
Robert Wulh. They will be appearing
on the Ampitheatre stage, April 26,
at 8 p.m.
Four bands will be presented in the
VD concert picnic on Sunday April 27
in the Lab School pit. The Rhythm Aces
will be joined by Spanky and Our Gang,
The Fools, and Cecilio and Kapono.
A mellow rock band, the Aces hits
include 'Third Rate Romance* and
'Imaginary Lover.'
Cyndi   Spencer,   Assistant   Director
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