Psychological Perspectives Relating to the movie: What About Bob?

I do not think that either one of the perspectives alone would be enough to explain Bob's condition. A psychologist would have to be eclectic and use both perspectives with a case like Bob's.

I find the movie What About Bob to be fairly funny and entertaining. Besides being a comedy, this movie has a relavent scene to the psychological perspectives we learned in class. http://www.teachertube.com/viewVideo.php?title=Psych_20___05_Bob_Viewing_Assignment&video_id=78896 In this scene Bob Wiley admits to his therapist that he has "problems." (I apologize there are some inapropriate words bleeped out of the clip while Bob pretends to have turetts syndrome.)  He claims he has problems moving when he is out in public away from his apartment. He uses the term "wierd" to define his actions when he goes out. His "wierdness" that he describes are physical conditions such as hot and cold sweats, difficulty swollowing, and blurred vision. Bob's ultimate concern is that he is afraid of death. His "what if" scenarios throw Bob into a panic to where he believes that if he pretends to have certain medical conditions like turetts, then he knows that he doesn't have that condition so it is a sense of reassurance to him that he is safe. At the end of the clip the author asks which perspective explains Bob's behavior- the cognitive perspective or the behavioral perspective?

Through reading the first chapter and listening to the lecture in class, I learned that the cognitive perspective is defined by studying the thought process behind one's action. It is the way the brain works to account for one's thoughts or actions. I believe that the cognitive perspective would be a good way to explain his behavior. He believed that by faking an illness, he would know that he did not have it. I think by studying how his mind processes his fears would be beneficial to curing his fears. His brain processes uncomfort and disease different from a person who isn't afraid of becoming ill and by studying why his brain makes him think and act the way he does, would be beneficial to help him as well as others who suffer through the same thing.

On the other hand, the behavioral perspective also would be a great way to study and explain his behavior. Behaviorism is the focus of observable behavior of an individual dealing with their response to situations and consequences. By studying Bob's behavior, one may discover why he feels uncomfortable being social out of his apartment and his fear of getting sick. He may have become ill as a consequence of a contagious disease and now believes he is more susseptible to other illnesses. By studying his behavior in different settings could help explain why he acts uncomfortable and "wierd" as he describes himself.