Effects of Exposure to Public Figures' Use of Psychologists on Attitude towards Help-Seeking Behavior

One-hundred-and-eighty-one university students and members of the general population were presented with either general information about psychology or with examples of well-known people who had sought professional psychological assistance for mental health issues or for performance optimization in sports. Following this, their attitude towards seeking psychological help for mental illness was measured. Contrary to expectation, attitudes were not more positive after exposure to the celebrities who had obtained help for mental health issues. However, it was found that men had a more negative attitude on the factor of stigma tolerance after exposure to models of well-known individuals who obtained professional assistance for sports performance. It is recommended that these findings be reinvestigated with changes to the experimental design. ********** The professions of dentistry and psychology provide treatments that are generally viewed negatively by the public. Nevertheless, people more readily seek help for dental problems than for psychological difficulties (Statistics Canada, 1999). People in need of psychological help often do not voluntarily seek assistance. A possible reason for this difference in attitudes may be that people who visit a dentist are not typically viewed in unfavourable terms by others, whereas people who consult a psychologist are often stigmatized (e.g., Corrigan, 2004; Komiya, Good & Sherrod, 2000; Wrigley, Jackon, Judd & Komiti, 2005). Although the roots of psychology date back a long time, there still are many misconceptions about what psychology is, the role psychologists play in society, and, more specifically, about mental illness (Barry, 1994). Such misconceptions are likely responsible for the stigma associated with mental illnesses. Negative attitudes toward individuals who grapple with these problems are prominent, notwithstanding the fact that a considerable percentage of the population suffers from some form of mental illness at least once during their lives (CPA, 2006). Because of this stigma, people often experience shame and discomfort when admitting that they have consulted or are presently consulting a mental health professional (Fischer & Turner, 1970). If this stigma is responsible for the generally reactive rather than proactive approach to mental health, then removing such stigma might lead to a more proactive approach to psychological help and services, as is the case with dentistry. The negative attitude toward mental illness and its treatments is in part the result of a lack of familiarity with and knowledge about the problems. Often, people with mental illness are perceived as dangerous (Levey & Howells, 1994), and there is the belief that they are a threat to society (Rousseau & De Man, 1998). On the other hand, direct contact with mentally ill individuals or receiving information about mental illness or its treatment has been shown to diminish such false perceptions, thereby fostering a more positive attitude toward mental illness and those suffering from such problems (Barry, 1994; Reinke, Corrigan, Leonhard, Lundin & Kubiak, 2004). Buckley and Malouff (2005) illustrated the effect of providing information on attitude change towards psychotherapy. Participants watched a video of a man and a woman who had benefited from psychotherapy, and a clinical psychologist who discussed the positive influence of therapy. The two clients described their reasons for seeking help, how constraining their problems were, how they coped with their conflicts prior to psychotherapy, what their expectations were in therapy, the therapeutic approach of their therapists, how beneficial the process was, and their personal development through the experience. A control group watched a video about psychology, describing the construct of the self. It was subsequently found that the participants in the experimental group had developed more favourable attitudes towards mental health treatment than those of the control group. …

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