Thomas Cruise Mapother IV who was born on July 3, 1962 is a famous American actor and producer. Tom Cruise has legally changed his name by dropping his last name, and it was reported that this was due to various issues he and his family had with his father. He has three children and has been married thrice. His first marriage was to actress Mimi Rogers who introduced him to the Church of Scientology (CoS). He later married Nichole Kidman and adopted 2 children.
After this marriage ended, he then married Katie Holmes, and had a biological daughter with her. Tom Cruise is an active member of many programs by the CoS and even acclaims the church for aiding him in overcoming Dyslexia. Since its initiation, CoS has been involved in numerous controversies ranging from its legitimacy as a religion, aggression towards critics and perceived enemies, allegations regarding abuse of members, negative attitudes towards psychiatry and a plethora of other abusive practices.
Though he is a very successful individual, Mr.
Cruise displays some bizarre and abnormal behaviors, most of which centers around his fascination with his religion and his belief that everyone should follow CoS. This escalated to the point of forcing it on his former wife Holmes, his children and even publicly expressing church affiliated condemnations towards psychiatry as well as antidepressant drugs. It was also rumored that the church has established numerous rules for his family to follow ranging from having church personnel monitor their homes and provide counselling to intimidate them to follow their teachings.
It was also reported that Cruise himself requested church elders to screen potential candidates to be selected as his wives, though the church denies such allegations. Another absurd behavior is making it mandatory for Holmes not to have any public relationships within 5 years of their divorce. Making her undergo a silent labor and performing her ultrasounds by himself are some of his other rather peculiar behaviors.
Based on these allegations, it could be argued that his behavior has definitely deviated from the norm. A behavior could be considered abnormal, if it significantly differs from what a society considers as normal (Comer, 2013). These norms vary from one society to another and is highly dependent on its culture. Cruise’s over engagement with the church and its rules that require him to violate the rights of members of his family could therefore be regarded as abnormal. Additionally, despite being rumored as the reason for the dissolution of 3 of his marriages, still pursuing the church’s practices could also be considered uncharacteristic of a normal behavior. Moreover, having women audition for the position of his wife is also something that is atypical. Furthermore, being controlling of one’s spouses every decision to the point of having to suppress child birth pain cannot be considered normal. Publicly speaking against the use of medication in treating mental illnesses, and ignorant allegations towards psychiatry also can be considered abnormal.
A behavior is considered dangerous when it is continuously hostile and careless, consequently putting oneself and others at risk (Comer, 2013). When this criterion is considered, his behaviors have posed danger to his children, his family and to himself. Reports have alleged that his involvement with the cult like organization has resulted in the dissolution of his marriages and greatly impacted his children as well. It is also speculated that this organization is the reason he has distanced himself from his biological daughter Suri, solely because she is not a follower of CoS. The church has also labelled his former wife Kidman as a “suppressive person” which is used by CoS to describe antisocial personalities. This has turned Kidman’s children against her and tarnished her reputation. In addition to psychological distress, separating Kidman from her children, and labelling her as an antisocial person may have subjected her to various dangers, possibly from his numerous supporters.
Moreover, Cruise’s public stand against psychiatry had attracted a lot of controversy as well. An article condemning his actions as dangerous and irresponsible has been published in the Journal of Clinical Investigations expressing concerns regarding his statements (Neill, 2005). The author stated that it could only be hoped that Cruise’s influence as a high-ranking actor does not prevent individuals who require immediate psychiatric interventions from getting the appropriate help. Strictly following the church’s principles could harm him, since it does not acknowledge mental illness as being real. Hence it is unlikely that he would consult a professional regarding any mental issues, and is more likely to adhere to church approved practices. If he were to experience a mental issue, this is very likely to put him at risk. Since many mental issues have underlying cognitive and biological constituents, not getting the appropriate help could lead to devastating consequences.
Despite all of the negative outcomes of his behavior, he does not show distress or dysfunction in his daily life. In fact, reports have portrayed him as being calm and relaxed. Comer (2013) stated that though a person does not exhibit distress, some individuals who behave abnormally continue to hold a positive mindset. Therefore, his fascination with the church’s practices and controlling behavior towards his family might not be causing distress, but rather may be a source of pleasure because of the status and power they provide him with. Therefore, though his behavior does not seem to cause him distress, it can still be considered abnormal.
Based on the criteria of abnormality, it could be concluded that his behaviors are abnormal since they are deviant and dangerous. This then raises the question as to what might be the causes of his behaviors, which include being overly controlling and having an unusual fascination towards his religion and its practices. One model that could be used to explain his behavior is the psychodynamic model. According to this model, an individual’s behavior is mostly determined by unconscious psychological forces, namely the id, ego and super ego (Comer, 2013). An interaction between these forces are said to result in behavior, emotions as well as thoughts. This model further emphasizes that an abnormal behavior emerges when these forces are in conflict, and conflict is a biproduct of an individual’s early experiences and relationships, particularly ones that were significantly traumatizing.
When considering cruise’s childhood, he had traumatic experiences due to a dominant and physically abusive father. He had reported being subjected to abuse, and witnessing his father abuse his siblings numerous times and describes his father as a bully. He had also reported that physical punishment was the primary outcome of misbehaving and that his experiences as a child taught his important lessons regarding trust. Based on this it could be speculated that an abusive and dominant father figure had resulted in very rigid moral principles, leading to the development of an overly strict super ego as well as diminished trust towards family members. These may have manifested in the form of being overly controlling of his children’s beliefs and imposing numerous restrictions on his spouses. Furthermore, it could be observed that his roles in many movies have also centered around abusive and traumatic experiences with a father figure, who either died early or did not show enough affection. This could further suggest the role of unconscious psychological forces influencing his behavior even in his professional career.
His childhood abuse and conflict with his father could have also resulted in the development of unhealthy ways to deal with interpersonal conflict. Research by Huh, Kim, Yu, and Chae (2014) showed that subjects who were physically and emotionally abused as children were very likely to be controlling, domineering and intrusive. This could suggest that cruise’s constant efforts to have control over his children and spouses may have resulted from the trauma he experienced as a child. Much of his controlling behaviors can be seen from the numerous unreasonable and absurd restrictions he has imposed on his former wife, Katie Holmes, during and after their marriage which could be described as controlling, domineering and intrusive.
His behavior could be further enlightened by the sociocultural model, particularly the family-social perspective. Theorists of this perspective proposed that familial relationships and social interactions are crucial to the development of an individual and that much emphasis needs to be placed on these areas since they directly impact the individual’s development (Comer, 2013). Cruise’s controlling behaviors and over-fascination with CoS may have been the due to a disturbed family structure. He may have considered the church and its members a substitute for his unsupportive and abusive family. Furthermore, it has also been reported that he attended 15 different schools in 14 years. This could have significantly hindered him from establishing successful peer relationships. Researchers argue that individuals who face difficulties in communicating and establishing social relationships in their everyday lives find alternative ways to do so, such as taking part in online communities (Butler & Matook, 2015). In Cruise’s case, he may have opted for membership in a church, and behave in ways to maintain his membership though his behavior is publicly criticized as being far from normal.
Another model that could explain Cruise’s behavior is the behavioral model. Proponents of this perspective have proposed a type of conditioning called operant conditioning that may produce abnormal behavior (Comer, 2013). Operant conditioning is a type of learning, that occurs following the resulting consequence (Plotnik & Kouyoumdjian, 2011). The consequence could either be a reward or a punishment, and the individual establishes an association between a behavior and its consequences. One technique that could be used to increase the occurrence of a certain behavior is reinforcement.
When this concept is applied to Cruise’s behavior of advocating for CoS, which is portrayed by the media as a cult like organization, more than a religious group, it could be seen that they occasionally reinforce his behaviors. Reinforcements come in the form of privileges, high ranks and medals. It was also reported that cruise is considered as a deity among members of the Church of Scientology. Being from a dysfunctional family and not having established much successful peer relationships due to frequent shifting of schools, such titles and influential positions in a large group of people might have reinforced his behaviors regarding control, and could have given him a sense of belonging. When this is considered, it could be understood why despite losing his family, he still maintained a good relationship with members of his faith.
In conclusion, when his behavior was analyzed via the criteria of abnormality, it was seen as deviant and dangerous. Moreover, though his behavior was not seen to cause him obvious distress and dysfunction, it could still be considered abnormal. Not experiencing neither distress nor dysfunction maybe due to his behavior being pleasurable and intrinsically rewarding and hence could still be used to evaluate and conclude his behavior as abnormal. Based on some models of abnormality there are several explanations for how his behavior may have developed and maintained. Experiencing a traumatic childhood, and failing to establish successful social relationships could have resulted in him experiencing conflict between unconscious psychological forces which may have manifested in his behaviors and these behaviors may have been maintained by reinforcement. Some media reports have claimed that he is nothing more than an innocent victim of the Church of Scientology, which has exploited his past into do their bidding. Whatever the reason, since his behavior is abnormal to the point of causing apparent harm to others, it needs to be addressed and it is high time Tom Cruise was provided the assistance he requires.
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