Why are we not angry at the psychological assessments of reality television?

If you are not, like most people, you are not on reality TV, you may not know how intensity of the casting process. There are tours and tours of interviews with various employees and producers, examining the criminal background, requests for medical records, and psychological assessments. It can be practical for months.

Producers will say that the main reason for this degree of examination is to ensure that the best candidates are thrown. They choose individuals who fit mentally and physically without any criminal records join the exhibition for “correct” reasons. Another reason is to alleviate the responsibility of the offer, because they do not want to throw a person who can submit it to a lawsuit.

Their commitment to large -scale assessments before casting is good. However, there are some serious ethical issues with the way in which psychological assessments are dealt with as part of this casting process (between Other concerns With how the therapists share the offers), the American Psychological Association (APA) should be very interested. The processors who do these assessments should be seen seriously, whether their participation may harm the members of the team they reside.

The members of the acting team do not see their results

Most offers have long contracts (and very restricted) that include wide versions of information. When doing this, the contestants give up their rights to see their test results while allowing the offer producers to reach them.

In general, unless there is a clinical or legal justification, any customer must have the right to access to the results of the psychological test. In fact, APA’s ethical principles stipulates psychologists and the rules of behavior explicitly that customers should be able to see the initial degrees, and they have a reactions to discuss the results, and give them an explanatory report.

However, there is an exception: when the evaluations are performed by third parties, such as the employer, the results are not intended for clinical treatment. TV offers may fall under this umbrella (although unlimited). As a result, the test results can be considered the property of the offer, not the team members, and the offer will not be obligated to share it. (It should be noted that when this is the case, the third party must explain the restrictions, submit an informed approval, and provide a summary of their results, and it is not a common practice in the reality of the reality TV. Also, we do not know the results that are in the end: Is it just a summary of the results and recommendations recommendations?

Legally, the offers may be safe. The production company requires evaluations, and the team members are signing agreements not to see the results. No one will take an offer to the court. However, the therapists who conduct these assessments He should Consider the possible damage that can come from the results.

The most problematic aspect is that the production company mainly receives a psychological road map to stimulate the contestant. The clinical interview can reveal the greatest concern of a person, sensitivities, and mental health conflicts, and attached Wounds can only imagine what other ideas can be acquired from psychometric tests. With the results in the hand, the product has an in -depth psychological definition file that can be used to determine the best ways to press for an emotional reaction.

Looking at Dating Show. If one of the producers knows that the contestant’s father left at an early age and has an important Fearful From giving up, they can use this knowledge to exploit this fear. If the contestant is rejected at a date, the producer can withdraw them into confession and say: “He left you, just as your father did. Does this make you worried that no one wants to be with you?”

Maybe you were thinking, “This is terrible! This doesn’t happen.” To be fair, there is no always It is happening. Unfortunately, we heard such stories from the members of the actors ’team: How did the information they revealed during interviews or assessments were strengthened in their most vulnerable moments, and weapons to provoke the emotional response, because this is what makes the great TV – public collapses, and angry despair.

This is not a fear of greatness. It is a fact. I have spoken to the former producers who confirm that the information obtained from the assessments is used to create a drama or increase the effect.

Therapists cannot ignore moral fears

As mentioned above, the offers may not face a legal problem. They ask for reviews for the reasons for selecting actors and the reasons for responsibility. They may use the results for the purposes outside the designation, but since they are the “client” in this preparation, there is no reason they cannot use reports in any ways they see as appropriate.

However, therapists do not have the same loophole. They are morally obligated to consider the impact of their assessments on the people they reside. Even one story from a member of the work team states that their test results led to a painful exchange that they felt that their emotional wounds should be sufficient for all therapists who drag these assessments to review their participation.

If one of the therapists discovers that an evaluation of a company has been used to treat the employee, he will be morally forced to end their contract with that company, fearing that it will be complicit in the employee exploitation and their damages. Why should our standard be different from reality TV?

We have literally seen that people are subject to psychological harm, and we have heard reports from the first person about how disclosures abuse emotional treatment, so we cannot pretend that we do not know the possible consequences. In the psychological community, the well -being of the individual comes before profit or entertainment for others, so the question arises: Why did APA not enter clear and strict moral guidelines for the transites practicing in this industry?

In my next post, we will consider some of the criteria that therapists must think about following if they choose to provide reviews for reality TV programs.