The Effects of Media Messages and Perspective-Taking on Prejudice Toward Individuals with Mental Illness Erin Ratliff, Kaitlyn Meyer, Chelsey Gavin, Katelyn Gavin, Annie Dunn, Rose MacKay, Marissa Zerby, and Gretchen Sechrist, Ph.D. Mansfield University ABSTRACT Research suggests media messages about violent crimes which emphasize an individual’s mental illness increase prejudice toward individuals with mental illness. This study examined if perspective- taking would reduce this effect. Participants read a news article emphasizing mental illness or not, and were asked to take the perspective of an individual with mental illness or not. Attitudes toward individuals with mental illness were then assessed. Results demonstrated that perspective-taking reduced prejudice when mental illness was emphasized. Implications of media coverage are discussed. METHOD Participants: 165 (57 male, 108 female) undergraduate students at Mansfield University; Age ranged from years (M = 19.31). Procedure: After completing an informed consent form, participants read a news article about an individual with mental illness who committed a mass shooting. For half of the participants, the article emphasized the individual’s mental illness, whereas for the other half it did not. Furthermore, half of the participants were instructed to consider the perspective of someone with mental illness when reading the article, whereas the other half were not given such instructions. After reading the article, all participants completed a memory test, for which they were asked to recall information from the story. Participants then completed a questionnaire, supposedly for another research team, to measure their attitudes toward individuals with mental illness. The questionnaire included the Social Distance scale and a modified version of the Beliefs Toward Mental Illness scale. All participants were debriefed. RESULTS DISCUSSION A significant interaction between perspective taking and emphasis on mental illness for the social distance measure was found. The results showed that when mental illness was emphasized, participants reported being more favorable (less social distance) toward individuals with mental illness under perspective-taking instructions as compared to no instructions. When a mental illness was not emphasized in the article, participants were more favorable when they were not given perspective-taking instructions. The results also showed this same significant interaction between perspective taking and emphasis for individuals' beliefs toward mental illness. The results suggest that when mental illness is emphasized, perspective-taking should be included as well, to avoid increasing prejudice toward individuals with mental illness. This finding is supported by past research on perspective-taking and stereotypes (Galinsky, Ku, & Wang, 2005 & Vescio, Sechrist, & Paolucci, 2003). Interestingly, we found if mental illness is not emphasized, then perspective-taking should not be included. The current study has implications for media sources when reporting on crimes committed by individuals with some form of mental illness. Our findings suggest that if news sources emphasize the criminal’s mental illness, then perspective-taking must be included to avoid increasing prejudice. However, if the mental illness is not emphasized, then perspective-taking instructions should not be included, as they may increase prejudice. RESULTS A 2 (Perspective Taking: No, Yes) X 2 (Emphasis: No, Yes) ANOVA was conducted for each of the dependent variables (social distance and attitudes toward mental illness). There was a significant Perspective Taking X Emphasis interaction for the social distance measure, F(1, 161) = 4.66, p <.05 and for individuals’ beliefs toward mental illness, F(1, 161) = 3.96, p <.05. See Figures 1 and 2. Note: High numbers indicate more favorable attitudes toward individuals with mental illness. PURPOSE AND BACKGROUND Past research demonstrated that media messages about violent crimes, which emphasize or place blame on the individual’s mental illness, increase negative attitudes toward individuals with mental illness. Stigmatizing media messages also increased desired social distance and perceived dangerousness of individuals with mental illness (McGinty, Webster, & Barry, 2013). Nairn, Coverdale, and Claasen (2001) reviewed 50 published news items discussing individuals with mental illness. The researchers found that the media messages were substantially more negative than the source material (psychiatric patients’ health information provided by the Privacy Commissioner). The portrayal of individuals with psychological disorders on television does not help the matter, as 75% of violent acts committed in television dramas are committed by an individual with a mental illness (Foster, 2010). Perspective-taking empathy, the process of taking another’s point of view, has been shown to decrease negative attitudes and prejudice toward stereotyped individuals (Galinsky, Ku, & Wang, 2005 & Vescio, Sechrist, & Paolucci, 2003). Perspective-taking has also been shown to increase an individual’s willingness to help an out-group member and is a useful tool for decreasing the accessibility of stereotypes (Galinsky & Moskowitz, 2000). Few studies have used perspective taking as a tool to reduce mental illness stigma. The purpose of the current study was to examine the influence of news media messages and perspective-taking on participants’ attitudes towards individuals with mental illness. HYPOTHESIS Perspective-taking will mediate the stigmatizing effect of the news article resulting in more positive attitudes toward individuals.