Kate L.

2/8/08

Fact: Dwight Schrute Suffers from a Personality Disorder Question: Which One?
Case History: At age thirty five, Dwight Schrute has come to me after a car crash resulting in a concussion sparked a chain of events that led him to question his mental health. While still in the womb, Dwight allegedly resorbed his twin and now believes he has the strength of a grown man and a little baby. He also admits to having been shunned by his family from age four to six for forgetting to save the oil from a can of tuna. In grade school he misspelled failure in a spelling bee, and admits to having worked on the family beet farm as a child from ten in the morning to well after midnight (Dwight, 2008). As an adult, Dwight has been known to wear the tuxedo that his grandfather was buried in to a work function. He hoards weapons including, but likely not limited to, pepper spray, nunchucks, throwing stars, a stun gun, a boomerang, handcuffs, a nightstick, brass knuckles, and a samurai sword in his desk in the office (Dwight, 2008). This does not include the spud gun that he claims to have hidden in his desk one day for the purpose of testing office security. He reasons that I.D. badges are long overdue. Security in this office park is a joke. Last year, I came to work with my spud gun in a duffel bag. I sat at my desk all day, with a rifle that shoots potatoes at 60 pounds per square inch. Can you imagine if I was deranged? (Quotes, n.d.) Dwight is clearly lacking in social skills and is highly gullible to the pranks of coworker Jim Halpert, however, his more useful, albeit disturbing, qualities include an intense focus on his job, which he sees as his top priority. In fact, one of Dwights life goals is to die at his desk while working for Dunder Mifflin (Dwight, 2008), the paper company for which he is the top salesman at the Scranton branch despite his social difficulties. In an interview, when asked to describe himself in three words, Dwight declared himself to be hard working, alpha male, jackhammer, merciless, and insatiable (Dwight, 2008) which is not only displays his disconcerting lack of counting abilities, but also demonstrates what he views as his most important qualities. When asked to define a

Kate L. 2/8/08 hero, Dwight replied: A hero kills people, people that wish him harm. A hero is part human and part supernatural. A hero is born out of a childhood trauma, or out of a disaster, that must be avenged (Quotes, n.d.). Clearly, this man is seriously deranged and in dire need of both diagnosis and treatment before he becomes an even greater danger to himself and his co-workers. Diagnosis: Although Dwight exhibits qualities suggestive of a mild autism and a mild narcissistic personality disorder, I find his symptoms to be most representative of patients suffering from schizotypal personality disorder. One of his most telling symptoms is his superstition and belief in bizarre fantasies and preoccupations exemplified in such instances as his conviction that co-worker Jim Halpert is a vampire (after Halpert behaves strangely when a bat is loose in the office) (Dwight, 2008), or his gullibility when, after hearing Halpert say that ever since I was a little kidI could sort of control things with my mind, Dwight responds: I dont believe you, continue (Quotes, n.d.). Dwights decision to use the names of mythical creatures for his passwords is yet another example of his preoccupations with child-like fantasies. One of my favorite instances of his fantastical belief also hints at Dwights tendency toward suspiciousness and paranoia (another of the nine criteria). In the episode, Jim Halpert introduces the scenario saying sometimes I send Dwight faxes from himself in the future. Dwight reads: Dear Dwight, Someone will poison the coffee this morning. Do not drink the coffee! More instructions will follow. From Future Dwight (Quotes, n.d.). He then sees Stanley (another co-worker) about to drink the coffee and tackles Stanley before he can take a sip, thus acting on information from a highly unreliable source (Dwight knows that he is often the object of Jims pranks) in a notably suspicious fashion. It is purely his belief in his future selfs correspondence that causes him to take action. Of course, Dwights tendency to over-protect himself is the most revealing of his paranoia. Dwights collection of weaponry (consisting of pepper spray, nunchucks, throwing stars, a stun gun, a boomerang, handcuffs, a nightstick, brass knuckles, and a samurai sword) is disturbing in itself, not to mention his training in a karate class, personal crossbow range, and confirmation of having brought a spud-gun to work (Dwight, 2008). When questioned, he calmly replied: I sat at my desk all day with a

Kate L. 2/8/08 rifle that shoots potatoes at 60 pounds per square inch, adding concernedly, can you imagine if I was deranged? (Quotes, n.d.) Of course, his obsession with self-defense may be merely one aspect of a well-adjusted interest in the subject; however, I find it much more likely that his interest arose primarily from a deeply rooted paranoia. Dwight also behaves with an inappropriate or constricted affect. He is often unaware of the emotional, and often not-so-subtle, side of a situation and, as a result, ends up making a fool of himself. Take for example the scene in which Jim arrives at the office dressed and acting like Dwight. Jim asks Dwight: Question: What kind of bear is best? Of course, anyone watching the interaction can tell immediately that Jim is playing yet another prank on Dwight, who seems confused about the situation and takes Jim seriously. Dwight does eventually figure it out after Jim interrupts Dwights defense that bears do not in fact eat beats by saying fact: bears, beets, battlestar galactica, which Dwight responds to with an irritated bears do notwhats going on?!? What are you doing?!? (Dunderbal, n.d.) Predictably, Dwight responds atypically to the situation, and while Jims interpretation of Dwight is rather cruel, it is accurate in his portrayal of both Dwights behavior and his eccentric appearance from facial expression to unconforming glasses and hair style. Unfortunately for Dwight, this odd behavior and appearance comprise yet another of the criterion used for diagnosing his personality disorder, and Dwights own fondness for beginning accusations with the word Fact, such has when he is confronting his boss (Fact: You are drinking grape soda. You never drink grape soda. Fact: You are talking to Jim. You never talk to Jim) (Quotes, n.d.), constitutes evidence of odd thinking and speechanother of the criterion. Along with his other eccentricities, Dwights inability to converse normally with his co-workers makes it difficult for him to make friends and maintain relationships with people other than his cousin whom he lives on the beet farm with. So far, Dwight has met the following criteria: He has odd beliefs and magical thinking; exhibits odd thinking and speech; is suspicious and paranoid; acts inappropriately (based on his affective responses); behaves and appears eccentric; and lacks close friends other than first degree relatives. The three criteria that Dwight does not meet include experiencing ideas of reference (i.e. believing that what he hears on the

Kate L. 2/8/08 radio is talking about him or to him); experiencing anything perceptually unusual (that we know of); and last of all, Dwight does not seem excessively anxious around people he has known for long periods of time. (Schizotypal, 1994) For the most part, Dwight is able to function normally enough, though he suffers daily from his peers amusement at his expense. Cause of the behavior: Dwights unusual upbringing is majorly responsible for his Shizotypal Personality Disorder. He was shunned by his family between the age of four and six which seems to have significantly impacted his ability to relate to other people. Perhaps that was his critical period for emotional development? In addition, he may not have had the opportunity to develop socially through interactions with children outside of his immediate family due to his long hours of work on the family beet farm (Dwight, 2008). The fact that he has always lived on that same farm may have made it difficult for him later in life to reverse the effects of his childhood because surroundings are often associated with memories and behaviors. I am also inclined to think that Dwights condition may be due in part to a genetic factor given that Dwights cousin appears child-like in his interests, overly-aggressive in temperament, and lives with Dwight on the beet farm. In any event, their relative isolation from psychologically sound people at home is probably not helping either of their cases. Treatment: I would advise that Dwight first move to a quiet neighborhood away from his beet farm and his cousin. That way he would be surrounded by more normal people than in his current residence. To ease his paranoia, I would suggest that Dwight begin sessions with a psychotherapist (with whom he should also talk about times when he finds himself confused or unsure of someones response). Last of all, Dwight should practice interpreting other peoples responses (or his own), and deciding what responses would be appropriate in a given situation. This would prepare Dwight to empathize with others rather than to respond inappropriately, as he often does now, with self-centered or insensitive remarks. He should continue to see a therapist regularly until his condition improves.

Kate L. 2/8/08

Works Cited: Quotes from The Office. (n.d.). Retrieved January 24, 2008, from http://www.quotesfromtheoffice.com/employees/dwight_schrute/ Dunderbal: An Office Fansite. (n.d.). Retrieved February 6, 2008 from http://dunderball.com/?q=taxonomy/term/26 Schizotypal Personality Disorder. (1994). Retrieved January 25, 2008 from http://www.behavenet.com/capsules/disorders/schizotypalpd.htm Autistic Disorder. (1994). Retrieved January 25, 2008 from http://www.behavenet.com/capsules/disorders/autistic.htm Narcissistic Personality Disorder. (1994). Retrieved January 25, 2008 from http://www.behavenet.com/capsules/disorders/narcissisticpd.htm Dwight Schrute. (January 25, 2008). Retrieved January 25, 2008 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dwight_Schrute