PSYCHOLOGIST AND THE MEDIA

Dr. SOSEVMS - Summer 2013

I have no financial relationships to disclose...but I’m working on it!

EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVES

Participants will be able to

State key issues relevant to interacting with the media in their role as psychologists

Consider multiple factors that play a role in a successful media engagement

PSYCHOLOGIST & THE MEDIA

What are your impressions of psychologists in the media?

Who currently represents the field of psychology and mental health?

FAMILIAR FACES

DR. DURVASULA ON PSYCHOLOGISTS IN THE MEDIA

Psychology poorly represented on tv

Psychologists can improve the public perception of the field

Unlicensed, untrained, or undertrained individuals providing mental health commentary

Working with the media requires an ability to make research and psychological principles simple and digestible

Media prefers direct correlations to circumspect approach

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HOW TO WORK WITH THE MEDIA

Interview format as an “expert”

Health and medical field are particularly prone to reporter requests based on public interest

Multiple forms of media to consider

Print

Radio

Television

COMMUNICATING WITH THE MASSES

Interfering factors:

General public is not science literate

Public has short retention abilities

Science can be intimidating

Public belief in “psychic phenomena”

Multiple scientific disciplines competing for same audience

Canadian Psychological Association - Working with the Media: A Guide for Psychologist

COMMUNICATION WITH THE MASSES

Facilitating factors:

Interesting

Relevant

Simplified, user-friendly, and easily understood

Memorable

People want to know about psychology!

Canadian Psychological Association - Working with the Media: A Guide for Psychologist

TO INTERVIEW OR NOT TO INTERVIEW?

If you are going to participate in an interview, consider these questions:

What do you want to accomplish with this interview?

What you want to say about this subject?

What do you have to gain by giving the interview?

Will there be more opportunities to interview in the future?

American Psychological Association: How to Work With the Media (www.apa.org)

TO INTERVIEW OR NOT TO INTERVIEW?

Consider declining an interview if it:

Would compromise you

Is not in your area of expertise

Use caution when considering:

Panel discussions

INTERVIEW PREPARATION

Preinterview

Do your homework

Join listservs

APA alerts

Consider major points (2 - 5 points)

Practice your talking points (record yourself)

INTERVIEW PREPARATION

Who will be attending?

Who will be participating?

Obtain contact information of interviewer

Would a background fact sheet be helpful?

Avoid “off the record” comments

INTERVIEW

What’s in a title?

“As a psychologist...”

Be succinct and keep your message straight forward and limited

Stick to your points

Follow the interviewer

Enjoy the experience

SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS FOR RADIO

Audience is relying on content and tone

Turn off your radio

Sit up right for good voice control

Keep notes on small cards

Avoid using “uh” sounds

DR. SOS RADIO EXCERPT

SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS FOR TELEVISION

Television

Highest academic degree w/your name

Use natural face and hand gestures

Maintain good eye contact with interviewer

Stay physically alert, even when you are not talking

Assume the microphone is always live

DR. SOS TV EXCERPT

DR. SOS TV EXCERPT

ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS

Division 46: Society for Media Psychology and Technology

Bound by ethical principles and standards

Special considerations

Confidentiality

Staying within your area of expertise

Commenting on specific cases

POST INTERVIEW

When will the show be aired/broadcasted?

Request a copy of your printed story

Send a thank you note

Contact interviewer if your views are misrepresented

MISQUOTED

Most of the time, students hear what they didn’t get right, says Stacie Otey-Scott, PsyD, a primary care psychologist and associate professor in family and community medicine and in psychiatry and behavioral sciences.

The SPs can describe how they felt physically and emotionally when the student did something. If he or she was nervous, did it make the patient nervous? And they can critique without making the student feel stupid. It produces students who don’t feel as intimidated in actual encounters.

“There really is no other way to get at that information unless you have a live person who is willing to share themselves, their most intimate side,”

Dr. Otey-Scott says.

RESOURCES

American Psychological Association

Frequently Asked Questions About Working with the Media: http://www.apa.org/pubs/authors/media/faq.aspx

Tips for Working with the Media:http://www.apa.org/pubs/authors/media/tips.aspx

Checklist for Media Interview Preparation: http://www.apa.org/pubs/authors/media/checklist.aspx

QUESTIONS??

The media can be a very valuable resource to the field of psychology...we must value it and treat it with respect.

Notes for this presentation and the presentation on Working With African-American Families can be found at: www.calldoctorsos.com

They will both be available within 1 business day of this presentation.