Mr. Bean looks all funny on the TV. However, if he were to be a real person, what sort of mental problem would he be suffering from?
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4Chronic bricks for brain syndrome.– cdeCommented Sep 17, 2015 at 5:59
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3 Answers
There are a lot of similar questions on the internet:
see here, here, here and this (amateurish) psychology forum.
The most common "diagnosis" are: asperger syndrome and schizotypical personality disorder.
I am not a psychiatrist, but I think schizoid personality disorder fits better, see this table in particular.
answered Sep 19, 2015 at 12:35
Answer:
Mr Bean suffers from selective mutism.
Trivia:
Rowan Atkinson created Mr Bean to satisfy his whim to create a physical comedy character that could be funny in all languages without the need for translation.
To achieve this, he decided to limit Mr Bean's dialogue in favour of amusing facial expressions, bodily actions and sounds.
Mr Bean has subsequently been exported to 190 countries and in recognition of this achievement, was included by Danny Boyle in his opening ceremony for the London 2012 Olympics.
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OP is asking what mental retardation/learning disability Bean has/should have, not the comedic acting trope/method used to portray him.– cdeCommented Sep 17, 2015 at 19:03
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Cant be Selective Mutism because Mr. Bean can be seen talking to people although he seems to be talking gibberish. Commented Sep 18, 2015 at 5:56
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2@cde You have introduced "learning disability" through your own personal interpretation of OPs question, which was to ask "what sort of mental problem" the character suffers from, and which this answer adequately addresses. There is nothing in Mr Bean's character to suggest that his perceived mental problem has anything to do with his deemed capacity to learn. Commented Sep 18, 2015 at 10:25
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4@CaptainBlack Selective mutism is...selective. Quoting from Wikipedia, Speaking gibberish is a facet of social anxiety which often co-exists with selective mutism, but Mr Bean also speaks English. Examples include how he addresses 'Teddy' and self-identifies as 'Bean'. Commented Sep 18, 2015 at 10:26
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3@cde not sure why you think "mental retardation/learning disability" is required in this... Other characters have had similar psychological issues, such as narcolepsy (Rat Race), OCPD (Monk), even Rajesh's inability to speak with women in BBT...– CatijaCommented Sep 18, 2015 at 14:22
As an educated guess, I don't think Mr Bean fits the criteria of Schizotypal Personality Disorder or Schzoid Personality Disorder. He may well be on the Autistic spectrum but presents as someone primarily living with Generalised Anxiety, which causes him to be quite avoidant and overcomplicate simple social dilemmas. Some people are simply rather unusual, but that doesn't automatically mean they must fit into one diagnostic criteria or another. ~ Been a Clinical Psychologist for five years, hope this helps!
