STATE COLLEGE — The defense team for Jerry Sandusky filed three motions on Monday aiming to include more evidence in the trial.

One would allow a psychologist to testify that Sandusky is affected by a mental health disorder.

A second would admit the entirety of Sandusky’s autobiography into the record.

The final filing would allow into the record statements Penn State administrators Gary Schultz, Tim Curley and Graham Spanier made to the grand jury investigating the case.

The first motion seeks to bolster a supporting pillar of Sandusky’s defense, as outlined by his attorney, Joe Amendola.

Amendola claimed in court on Monday his client was affected by histrionic personality disorder, a diagnosis that may explain some of Sandusky’s actions that members of the jury might otherwise interpret as bizarre.

The motion requests that Senior Judge John Cleland allow a psychologist to testify that love letters written by Sandusky to his alleged victims were products of his mental disorder, rather than evidence of an inappropriate relationship.

“The goal of a person suffering from this disorder in writing those letters would not necessarily be to groom or sexually consummate a relationship in a criminal manner, but rather to satisfy the needs of a psyche belabored by the needs of such a disorder,” the motion said.

The motion acknowledges the letters the prosecution intends to present as evidence could be damning for Sandusky's defense.

“Given the highly prejudicial nature of the letters, should the jury not know they are consistent with other purposes besides grooming, they will be forced to make a conclusion about the letters’ purposes without all the possibilities, and some of those possibilities are consistent with innocence,” the motion said.

The defense’s second motion, to add the entirety of “Touched,” Sandusky’s autobiography, to the official court record, is meant to contextualize certain excerpts from the book the prosecution might use as circumstantial evidence of Sandusky’s alleged pedophilia.

“It is believed that they will use snippets to mischaracterize the (d)efendant’s motivations, purposes and actions, and attempt to use those excerpts to prove actions in conformity with their theories of how he propagated the alleged abuse,” the motion said. “The admission of non-contextualized snippets and statements is extremely prejudicial without hearing them in the full context of his autobiography.”

The third motion asks for Cleland to allow the Penn State administrators’ statements to the grand jury to be admitted as evidence that “exculpate(s) the defendant from the crime for which he is charged.”

Curley and Schultz are expected to invoke their Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination, according to the motion, and Spanier is likely to do the same. Without the ability to call them as witnesses, the defense must rely on their testimony to the grand jury, according to the third motion.

All three motions were filed between Monday shortly after Sandusky’s trial began in Bellefonte.

Kenneth Levy, an associate professor of psychology at Penn State, said histrionic personality disorder is related to but is less severe than other, better-known disorders such as narcissistic personality disorder, antisocial personality disorder and borderline personality disorder.

“A histrionic person tends to be somebody who is rather emotionally shallow,” Levy said. “He or she has rapidly shifting emotional experiences. They like to be the center of attention.”

Levy said a histrionic person can seem “chameleon-like.”

“You might see them acting one way when they’re with one group of people, and another way when they’re with a different group,” he said. “In talking to them, they’re very interested in talking about their emotional experiences, but they come across as shallow. You might realize they don’t have command of what they’re talking about and that they may not be very aware of what impression they’re giving off to other people.”

A histrionic person might behave in a sexually seductive way and not realize the inappropriateness of his or her behavior, Levy said.

“It’s not uncommon for histrionic individuals to act in sexualized ways, like dressing provocatively,” he said, “and then be shocked that other people comment that they’re dressed provocatively.”

Cliff White can be reached at 235-3928. Follow him on Twitter @CliffWhiteNews