Media psychology

• TYPE OF PSYCHOLOGY: Emotion; language; learning; personality; sensation and perception; social psychology; stress

Media psychology is a field of study that addresses the role of psychology in information dissemination and as a cultural form of entertainment and an influential molder of popular opinion concerning societal psychological issues.

Introduction

Media psychology emerged as an applied psychological discipline concurrently with the rise in popularity of such talk shows as Donahue on television and radio in the 1970s. Mental health professionals have contributed their expertise and knowledge to a variety of media, including newspapers, magazines, television, movies, radio, cell phones, and the Internet. Technology advancements have expanded the influence of psychology to more people globally.

Some psychologists serve as media consultants, preparing specific programming or articles about significant issues, such as depression, or topics suddenly newsworthy, such as school violence. Many host or appear on television and radio programs to discuss mental health issues and advise listeners. Other mental health professionals concentrate on media-oriented careers, writing self-help books and screenplays or serving as columnists for national, regional, or local publications. Scholars analyze how the media depicts psychological issues, such as mental illness, and influence people’s perceptions of themselves and others.

Mental health professionals are concerned with how psychological issues are portrayed in the media. Beginning in the 1950s, newspaper advice columnists such as Dear Abby and Ann Landers assumed the role of amateur mental health authorities, and they have been followed by many others. Culturally, people tend to find such amateur psychological input appealing, accessible, and comforting. Similarly, many talk show hosts who lack professional credentials often act as if they are psychologically knowledgeable. They unrealistically expect psychology to serve as a sensational entertainment tool to address media-popular disorders such as anorexia nervosa in an attempt to score high ratings. Hosts have minimal awareness of the complexities and subtleties of the topics they are discussing, nor do they understand suitable therapeutic treatments for their guests.

Professional psychologists worry that such popular psychology is damaging not only to the people involved but also to the mental health profession. From 1953 to 1981, the American Psychological Association (APA) outlined prohibitions in its ethical principles against psychologists offering superficial or sensational services that were unrelated to professional contexts. Some psychologists ignored professional suggestions and began participating in media opportunities before 1992, when the APA loosened its restrictions. New guidelines permitted psychologists to comment about psychological issues or advise people who were not patients in some circumstances understood to be through media outlets.

Professionalism

The Association for Media Psychology (AMP) was organized in 1982 and issued guidelines to regulate professional conduct. Five years later, the APA established Division 46, dubbed the Society for Media Psychology and Technology, to focus on media psychology issues. Media psychology has many facets. Primarily, the field investigates how media influences human behavior. Division 46’s purpose is also to assist mental health professionals and journalists in providing the public with timely, useful, and accessible psychological information that addresses concerns and crises through the mass media.

The goal of Division 46 is to communicate essential information about psychology based on members’ experiences in their practices and research. Professionals are urged to use media to educate people about psychology. Collaboration with communication experts is encouraged to enhance the delivery techniques of ideas to audiences. Both psychologists and journalists strive to devise informative, accurate, professional, yet entertaining presentations. Mental health professionals participate in workshops specializing in media training and ethics. Outreach programs with journalists help educate them about professional ethics, standards, and credentials so that they will consult a legitimate mental health professional instead of contacting a self-help celebrity who lacks substantial formal training. Division 46 emphasizes the need for mental health professionals to observe the APA’s ethical standards and guidelines while interacting with media.

Mental health professionals distribute information in a variety of modes. Some individuals present speeches and participate in public campaigns concerning issues related to mental health such as substance abuse. A public information committee in the APA has functioned since 1979, and the APA public affairs department alerts media to available media psychologists and releases monthly news packages of interesting items related to its research-based journals. The APA science media relations specialist focuses on placing psychological news in science media.

The division specifically seeks to establish theoretical paradigms to study and practice media psychology internationally, such as how mass media influences the public and how effective it is at distributing psychological information. Many researchers design surveys to study how people react to media presentations, such as coverage of the controversial 2000 US presidential election and analysis of the stock market. Media psychologists collaborate with professionals in other psychological fields to examine specific issues, such as how the media portrays marriage and family relationships.

Stuart Fischoff, who founded the Media Psychology Research Institute (MPRI) at California State University, Los Angeles, initiated the first media psychology classes and laboratory in the United States and developed a master’s program specializing in media psychology. He later helped develop the first doctoral program in media psychology as well and served as senior editor of the Journal of Media Psychology.

Ethics

Radio and television psychology have become subdisciplines of psychology. Audiences seek to be entertained and to acquire advice and information. Many mental health professionals support and encourage this form of media psychology but insist that radio and television psychiatrists should strive to be broadcast educators instead of psychotherapists. They can advise listeners but not diagnose them. The AMP developed ethical guidelines relevant to Federal Communications Commission (FCC) rules for mental health professionals. Prior to a media appearance, professionals should watch or listen to a broadcast to determine what their roles as guests will be and if the show is professionally appropriate and not exploitative and sensationalized. If a professional declines an invitation, he or she should explain to the show’s producers what is ethically problematic. Above all else, media psychologists should retain their integrity and standards.

Because media psychology is constantly evolving and expanding in response to new technology and formats, peer discussion is crucial to maintain ethical standards. Some state boards of examiners in psychology, such as the one in Louisiana, issue opinions that restrict state mental health professionals’ participation in media activities to prevent harming the public. State regulations usually require that media psychology professionals base their comments on accurate psychological resources, do not exploit patients, and clarify that they have not established a personal psychological relationship with anybody who receives their information in any form of public delivery. Most important, media psychologists are not to place entertainment over ethical psychological practices.

Mental health professionals participating in media are urged to avoid exploitative relationships. In particular, psychologists on call-in broadcasts must insist that calls are screened off the air before publicly conversing with callers. Also, the screeners should use a process approved by mental health experts, not show producers or hosts, and be adequately trained to refer callers to mental health resources and crisis and support groups as necessary. Professionals must require media to provide callers disclaimers that explain that on-air interaction is not a substitute for therapy and that it is not private and any disclosures will become public information. Also, callers are warned that there may be a delay when they are placed on hold before their call is aired or that their call might not be broadcast because they will be referred to other forms of assistance. The professional should also insist that an on-air disclaimer emphasize that information on the show is presented in a limited format and should not be considered adequate therapy.

In many cases, mental health professionals might be asked about a subject outside of their specialty area, about which they have limited knowledge. They should recognize the limitations of talk show formats and not advise callers to make impulsive, life-changing decisions. Media psychology professionals also need to be alert for callers’ and show personnel’s unique ethnic, cultural, or special interests, which might influence those people’s psychological perceptions, expectations, and agendas.

Psychology via Media

Media psychologists strive to tell audiences about psychological topics in concise passages without using complicated jargon. Mental health professionals provide essential psychological assistance during times of crisis. A subfield known as disaster psychology specializes in assisting those affected by public or large-scale tragedies, such as natural disasters, mass shootings, or terrorist attacks. After the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, media psychologists volunteered with the APA/American Red Cross Disaster Response Network to help comfort audiences, especially children; counsel survivors; and suggest how to cope with emotional shocks, tragedies, and trauma. Publicity also addressed people’s fear of flying after the hijackings. Media professionals also try to explain the psychological aspects of traumatic violent actions such as murders and school shootings. Their knowledge can also be used to develop violence intervention and prevention programs for public presentation.

Media used to distribute psychology information range from local to international forums. Information tends to address issues relevant to a broad audience and is often created to be appealing and familiar, such as publicizing the therapeutic role of pets in people’s lives. Print is a popular medium, whether in the form of books, pamphlets, or articles appearing in newspapers, magazines, newsletters, or mass mailings. Media psychologists deliver public lectures and perform demonstrations of methods. Often such presentations are recorded on audio or video tapes or broadcast on radio or television programs. Many broadcasts are interactive events among professionals, guests with problems, and audiences. Computer software and the Internet, including chat rooms and message boards, have provided innovative forums to disseminate media psychology information quickly and broadly.

Mental health professionals use media to address their interests and concerns for legislation and community services concerning mental health. Media psychology also has valuable applications to marketing and consumer and political psychology. Psychologists often comment in the media about controversial court trials that involve psychological issues such as battered women, violent children, or mental illnesses. Often, different psychologists present contrasting perceptions of defendants and witnesses during a trial, particularly when assessing the reliability of childhood memories of abuse or trauma. Forensic psychology is appealing to the media and to the public, who want to understand why people might commit shocking crimes, but the media often sensationalize information instead of presenting psychological data factually and unemotionally. Media psychologists study the role of psychologists in legal reporting. They are concerned about the ethical ramifications of mental health professionals publicly discussing people they have not evaluated and with privacy and confidentiality issues regarding the people being analyzed in the press.

Some media psychologists are celebrities, such as Ruth Westheimer, John Gray, James Dobson, Barbara De Angelis, and Phil McGraw. Others have high-profile positions as consultants on morning news shows or as magazine columnists while also teaching or practicing in their communities. Several serve as staff psychologists for reality television shows. Some media psychologists host regional television shows on local access channels. On Dr. Carol Goldberg and Company in New York, viewers learn about the psychology profession during interviews with psychologists who discuss social concerns such as parenting.

Experts versus Amateurs

Talk shows need psychology professionals to legitimize programs. Media psychologists often encounter disrespect for their expertise, especially on shows such as Jerry Springer and Maury, which encourage tabloid techniques such as ambushes, revenge-seeking, hostility, and exhibitionism. Audiences often prefer receiving psychological advice from flashy, entertaining people who lack academic credentials but offer easy answers and quick fixes. The sensationalism inherent in many public talk show forums encourages an adversarial relationship with mental health professionals. Cal State's Stuart Fischoff, who frequently appeared as an authority on major talk shows, exposed their exploitative and damaging nature. Fischoff noted that most shows were manipulated to present a biased message that would attract large audiences and that producers expected invited authorities to approve this spin publicly even if it was contrary to their research and beliefs.

According to Fischoff, most talk show formats impede mental health goals. Invited experts are expected to perform by providing entertaining comments in brief, simple sound bites and to summarize complex situations in short time periods averaging thirty seconds. Usually, they can only make general remarks and are often interrupted by hosts or audience members who want to promote their views. Media psychologists only briefly encounter guests and do not develop a therapist-patient relationship in which they acquire sufficient information about the person for professional analysis. Most guests are not seeking help but want the expert’s validation, approval, and acceptance and the exposure to millions of viewers who might identify with them in some way. Some shows, such as Oprah, purposefully attempt to educate guests but sometimes succumb to ratings stunts.

Experts are discouraged from engaging in profound, original discourse. Audience members are encouraged to consider themselves equals to psychological experts, and personal experiences are valued more than clinical experiences and academic training. Shows are formulaic, and experts are expected to conform. Many media psychologists appear on talk shows solely for self-promotion. Occasionally guests sue shows for suffering they claimed was inflicted on them, and media psychologists are consulted to evaluate and testify whether the plaintiffs were traumatized.

Media consultants often are frustrated by how some journalists distort and fabricate psychological information. For example, the media often perpetuate stories about syndromes and disorders that lack factual verification by clinical trials and research. Uncritical reporting and hype result when the press is intrigued by sensational descriptions that have no scientific basis. For example, some media depicted psychotherapy negatively in their skewed coverage of false memory syndrome related to childhood abuse described in legal testimony. By concentrating on controversial psychotherapists and clinics, the media caused the public to lose confidence in mental health professionals, sparking a temporary backlash.

Media psychologists urge reporters to aspire to be accurate, fair, and responsible in their coverage of psychological issues. Reporters often do not comprehend who is an expert on a subject and showcase people whose personal experiences are equated with expertise. Media personnel often have insufficient familiarity with social science research methodology to understand why some data or statements are flawed. Psychologists may choose not to appear as experts on media, concerned that they might inadvertently veer from APA principles because of host pressure and editing. Most media psychologists strive to be responsible and to avoid having their comments misused and deceptively presented. In contrast, the nonexperts touting pop psychology often detrimentally influence media and public knowledge through their ignorance, and psychology is often mistakenly comprehended as a pseudoscience because of these amateurs.

Media Impact and Depictions

Media psychologists research how media impact individuals and society. The role of the media in possibly provoking violence is a controversial topic. Most researchers agree that data analyzed according to accepted methodology reveal that media in the form of television, movies, video games, music, and other modes do not cause people to become violent. Instead, violence is triggered by other factors, mainly environmental, such as peer group pressure. Other media psychologists insist that violence and media are connected and testify to legislative bodies about controlling children’s access to violent forms of entertainment. Many journalists ignore the scientific findings and experts’ testimony that argue against a media link to causing violence and instead emphasize accounts that suggest that media provokes violence. Other research topics include how stereotypes and clichés in media influence cultural attitudes toward groups such as women and foreigners and processes such as aging.

Media psychology is concerned with how mental health professionals are depicted by popular culture. Psychologists, psychiatrists, and therapists have been characters in television programs such as The Bob Newhart Show and Frasier and films such as Silence of the Lambs (1991) and Analyze This (1999). Soap operas often have a psychiatrist character, such as Dr. Marlena Evans on Days of Our Lives, whose career is pivotal to plots. Therapy and support groups are the focus of plots and settings.

The APA’s Division 46 established a media watch committee to monitor how media portray psychologists, psychiatrists, and therapists. The committee’s rating system evaluates how television programs emphasize mental health authorities as being professional and ethical, respecting laws and therapist-patient confidentiality, or stress if a character is behaving contrary to professional standards. Media psychologists criticize entertainment that stereotypes psychologists, such as depicting male therapists as extremely competent or evil, while demeaning female psychologists as ineffective and primarily sexual objects.

The Golden Psi Award has been presented to producers of television shows, including Law & Order, Once and Again, The Sopranos, and Chicago Hope, who have responsibly and realistically presented mental health issues and competent, intelligent, and compassionate characters. Descriptions of psychologically related issues on those shows demonstrate accurate knowledge of disorders and comprehension of physiological development and social dynamics relevant to mental health. Characters are identified by their credentials or discredited for not being suitably trained as mental health professionals.

Another focus of media psychology in modern times is how media can best be used in education. Such questions and concerns drew researchers' attention in the 2020s because of the global COVID-19 pandemic. When many schools closed, educators and parents often wrestled with online or remote learning.

The impact of social media has become a rising topic in the field of media psychology. Media psychology is important to studying how the platforms operate and can be adjusted, as well as in brainstorming ways to decrease online negative behavior such as cyberbullying. As questions arise about social media’s ties to mental health and adolescent behavior, media psychologists' expertise can assist in policy making and science based decisions.

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