SBPsych: Depp v Heard – The Accuracy and Implications of Personality Testing
Before reading: I don’t have any opinion either way as to who’s in the right and who’s wrong. Discussions around this case has opened a lot of traumas for IPV survivors, who have historically struggled to be taken seriously. The way we communicate about this topic must seriously consider the impact that our language has on people - especially if we are speaking publicly on social media, where anyone, vulnerable or not, can see it. I’ve tried to be concise in this post so if I’ve missed anything, or if I’ve written something you think could be worded a bit more sensitively, please feel free to comment and I’ll do my best to address it.
Intimate partner violence (IPV) is an issue that transcends race, religion, ethnicity, and time. Regardless of the outcome, the Depp v Heard case has helped people discuss the ways IPV experiences can even transcend gender. This blog post will look at the findings by one of the forensic psychologists working on this case.
Dr Curry, the forensic psychologist hired by Depp's legal team, has 15 years of experience in clinical and forensic psychology experience. In her testimony and cross-examination, Dr Curry was well spoken, offered little ambiguity in her statements, and explained her findings in clear, yet scientific and clinical language.
Dr Curry's main findings were that Heard presented symptoms characteristic of people with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) and Histrionic Personality Disorder. Furthermore, she found evidence that Heard was feigning most of her symptoms of PTSD in the assessment. Heard reported that she had 19 of 20 symptoms of PTSD, but when probed further, Dr Curry determined that Heard only had three symptoms.
The main strength of Dr Curry's argument was that it explained a lot of the public observations of Heard's behaviour. As Dr Curry explained the symptoms of Borderline and Histrionic, they lined up well with what a lot of people have observed in this very public case. Together, these disorders suggest a higher likelihood of high emotionality, instability in close relationships, and a higher level of reactivity.
However, we can imagine what sources of error Heard's assessment would have had (i.e., factors that impact the accuracy of the psychological testing). If she knew that she was being tested by a psychologist hired by Depp's legal team, it's not unlikely that she would have downplayed the symptoms of any dysfunction and heightened the symptoms of PTSD. Accordingly, the MMPI (a very complex, well-researched and validated personality test) has a subscale, which indicated that Heard responded like someone who would try to downplay their symptoms. This subscale was developed with samples of hospitalised psychiatric patients who were identified as pretending that their symptoms were non-existent. It should be noted that these findings aren’t foolproof, and the accuracy of these findings can be weakened by some sophisticated responses.
Dr Curry's findings may have validity issues, but based on Dr Curry's experience, the complexity and validity of the testing materials used, and the extensive evidence that Dr Curry provided to back up her claims, they will help provide the jury with some insight to Heard’s personality, depending on how they will choose to interpret the findings.
Moving on to the diagnostic language. People with histrionic personality disorder are characterised by having unstable self-image and feeling clinically distressed when not the centre of attention. Histrionic comes from the Latin word meaning 'dramatic/theatrical' - but it is also derived from the more outdated diagnosis, 'hysteria', from Greek meaning 'wandering womb'. So, it's great that we found a more accurate word to represent the disorder... we still have some progress to be made.
Meanwhile, the term borderline is unambiguously outdated. It refers to the old belief that patients with this disorder were on the borderline between schizophrenia and neurosis. We now know that BPD patterns of behaviour are better represented by unstable emotions - in fact, it's a perfectly normal thing for people, atypical or not, to have distorted perceptions when experiencing high emotions (e.g., think of catastrophising, not a symptom of any disorder, yet still a poor perception of the reality of the situation). This may explain why early BPD patients were seen to exhibit psychotic states.
BPD is diagnosed more often in women than men, and gender is believed to impact the expression of personality dysfunction. Cisgendered women and men are socialised differently and have different developmental and genetic markers. BPD is caused by genetic factors, and environmental factors contribute to, and can trigger, the symptoms. There is still debate in some circles about the sexist undertones of this disorder's inclusion in the diagnostic language, and whether this disorder should still be discussed the way it is in professional circles.
The most important takeaway from any discussion of personality disorders is that no two people with personality disorders are alike - just as no two extraverts are alike, and no two sports fans are alike. They are just examples of clusters of behaviour and emotions that form a part of one whole person. Some people with BPD have childhood trauma, others don't. Some people with BPD are more likely to be victims of IPV, some are more likely to be perpetrators. Some people with BPD have many severe symptoms of the disorder, some people have milder symptoms. And some people have diagnoses of BPD when other criteria would fit (e.g., ADHD is misdiagnosed as personality disorder more often in women than men).
If I have been clear enough in this blog post, hopefully I have demonstrated that the diagnosis of a personality disorder does not do a great job of implicating Heard as an abuser. If the diagnosis should do that, it only contributes to our culture of stigmatising psychological disorders. As Dr Curry mentioned a few times in her cross examination, psychology can’t claim whether a crime happened.
Psychologists pick up many clues to determine if someone has a specific disorder, which can include family history, medical history, developmental history, psychological tests such as the MMPI, observations, clinical interviews, and other sources. Likewise, Dr Curry's findings are just one piece of the puzzle which will help the court determine whether Heard is a survivor or an abuser. But let’s hope that outside Hollywood drama, this case starts discussions about how we can help people who are the most vulnerable.
My credentials: I have a Grad Dip of Psychological Science, and I am currently studying an advanced degree of the same nature. Feel free to double-check this research with people more experienced. This information is not appropriate for academic, clinical, or research use.