An exploration of psychologists' public image: factors influencing students' perceptions of psychologists

Abstract

There is a continual interest in the way that individuals view psychologists, as it directly impacts individuals’ likelihood of seeking psychological services, and the degree of trust clients place in their psychological service providers. There is currently little research about college students in this area, especially in relation to the impact the media and previous psychotherapy sources have upon students. This research is important for psychologists working with college students, as it may provide questions to investigate to understand what preconceptions students hold about psychologists. This will allow the therapeutic relationship to take on a new dimension, in that there will be a deeper understanding of the conceptions a client brings to psychotherapy. The purpose of this study is to investigate common perceptions college students hold about psychologists, and to determine which factors influence those perceptions. Information regarding the perceived ethical nature of psychologists and how these perceptions are influenced by the popular media is also investigated. One hundred five students enrolled in an undergraduate or graduate program at a Wisconsin university voluntarily participated in this study by completing the four section Perceptions of Psychologists and Ethical Standards Instrument. This questionnaire gathered information about students’ ideas regarding the ethical and professional standards to which psychologists adhere, demographic information, and previous experience with therapy. Data analyses using independent samples t tests and Pearson’s r correlation coefficients were used in this research. Analyses suggested that individuals who received therapy at sometime in their lives had more favorable views of psychologists than did their counterparts who did not receive therapy. Also, individuals with previous therapy experience considered themselves to be more knowledgeable of the ethical standards psychologists follow, and believed that psychologists were more prone to follow ethical and professional standards, than those students who never received psychotherapeutic services. It was found that as individuals’ impressions of psychologists become more favorable, their belief that psychologists are likely to uphold professional standards also increased. Additional findings revealed that an individual’s level of academic education positively correlated with knowledge of ethical guidelines in the field of psychology. Academic education also positively correlated with students’ views regarding the favorability of psychologists. However, students’ academic education did not correlate with perceptions of psychologists’ likelihood to follow professional standards. No significant relationship was detected between the perceived ethical nature of psychologists and the influence of the popular media upon perceptions of psychologists. No significant relationship was found between beliefs that psychologists will follow professional standards and the influence of the popular media upon perceptions of psychologists. Additionally, no relationship was detected between favorability of psychologists and the influence of popular media upon perceptions of psychologists. Implications of this research may suggest that the influence of the media upon individuals’ perceptions of the field of psychology may not be as strong as previously thought, especially for individuals with education in the human services field. Additionally, it is possible that the media’s influence upon perceptions of psychologists may be more covert than previously thought. In the future, replication of this research with a non-college population is recommended.