# If "Mr. Bean" the character were to be treated by a psychiatrist / psychologist .... **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 25, 2010, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-mr-bean-the-character-were-to-be-treated-by-a-psychiatrist-psychologist/551439 "2010-08-25T19:20:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Livardo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/43a26b/32.png) [@Livardo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Livardo)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2010, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-mr-bean-the-character-were-to-be-treated-by-a-psychiatrist-psychologist/551439/1 "2010-08-25T19:20:07Z")
Would he be diagnosed with anything? He doesn’t strike me as particularly “normal” individual. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/73ab20/32.png) [@The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tao_s_Revenge)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2010, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-mr-bean-the-character-were-to-be-treated-by-a-psychiatrist-psychologist/551439/2 "2010-08-25T20:55:02Z")
My first thought is autism, and social anxiety. ---
**Author:** ![LawMonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d6d6ee/32.png) [@LawMonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LawMonkey)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2010, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-mr-bean-the-character-were-to-be-treated-by-a-psychiatrist-psychologist/551439/3 "2010-08-25T23:53:03Z")
I’ve no training, so I can’t diagnose him, but he always struck me as a little boy–and not a particularly pleasant one, either–in a grown man’s skin. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2010, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-mr-bean-the-character-were-to-be-treated-by-a-psychiatrist-psychologist/551439/4 "2010-08-26T00:21:37Z")
“[Peter Pan Syndrome](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puer_aeternus#Peter_Pan_syndrome)” (scroll down). Or sociopath. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2010, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-mr-bean-the-character-were-to-be-treated-by-a-psychiatrist-psychologist/551439/5 "2010-08-26T00:33:49Z")
Arrested development (agreeing with \*\*LawMonkey \*\*and **Chefguy** ). Say at about age 8. ETA: My 15-year-old thinks he’s about age 7 or 8. ---
**Author:** ![Indistinguishable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/90ced4/32.png) [@Indistinguishable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indistinguishable)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2010, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-mr-bean-the-character-were-to-be-treated-by-a-psychiatrist-psychologist/551439/6 "2010-08-26T00:50:46Z")
> [@Livardo](#): > > Would he be diagnosed with anything? The extreme lack of speech would certainly merit some notice. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2010, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-mr-bean-the-character-were-to-be-treated-by-a-psychiatrist-psychologist/551439/7 "2010-08-26T02:46:47Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > Arrested development (agreeing with \*\*LawMonkey \*\*and **Chefguy** ). Say at about age 8. > > ETA: My 15-year-old thinks he’s about age 7 or 8. This is about right. Rowan Atkinson thinks of him as a [9 year old boy](http://articles.sfgate.com/2007-08-19/entertainment/17258774_1_longtime-collaborator-richard-curtis-rowan-atkinson-live-mr-bean-s-holiday). [QUOTE=Rowan Atkinson] He’s a child trapped in a man’s body, with most of the attitudes and failings of a 9-year-old boy. I’ve always regarded him as naive and immature and quite sort of sweet and innocent, and vulnerable at times, but then he can transform in an instant into a highly vindictive, self-centered, self-promoting individual. [/QUOTE] ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2010, 10:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-mr-bean-the-character-were-to-be-treated-by-a-psychiatrist-psychologist/551439/8 "2010-08-26T10:54:36Z")
I don’t really think he comes off as autistic. He has too many social-seeking behaviors. Heck, I just went to the website, and the first clip is him trying to make a kid beside him on an airplane laugh. He’s quite social, despite not speaking. I guess it could be an unusual form of [selective mutism](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selective_mutism), but that usually manifests in shutting down all attempts at communication, not just speaking. Mr. Bean seems more like a mime, or someone who just doesn’t have a voice.