Attitudes toward mental illness: the effects of electronic media and the social desirability bias

Author

Brandi A. Klein, Saint Vincent College

Periodical Title

Modern Psychological Studies

Volume

12

Number

2

Page Numbers

pages 60-79

Department

Dept. of Psychology

Publisher

University of Tennessee at Chattanooga

Place of Publication

Chattanooga (Tenn.)

Date

2007

Abstract

This study examined the effects of mental illness portrayal in film and the social desirability bias on participants' attitudes toward mental illness. Participants watched video clips of a mentally ill character acting either normally or abnormally, and were given either anonymous or confidential questionnaires. Participants who viewed abnormal behavior reported more negative attitudes toward mental illness than participants who watched normal behavior (p < .001) on the Beliefs Toward Mental Illness Scale (Hirai & Clum, 2000). No difference was found between the anonymous and confidential conditions, and these scores did not vary by the viewed behavior. These results suggest that the electronic media influenced participants' attitudes toward mental illness, but participants were not influenced by the social desirability bias.

Subject

Psychology

Discipline

Psychology

Document Type

article

DCMI Type

Text

Extent

20 leaves

Language

English

Call Number

BF1 .M63 v. 12 no. 2 2007

Rights

http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

Recommended Citation

Klein, Brandi A. (2007) "Attitudes toward mental illness: the effects of electronic media and the social desirability bias," Modern Psychological Studies: Vol. 12: No. 2, Article 7.
Available at: https://scholar.utc.edu/mps/vol12/iss2/7