Role of Affect and Cognition in Lay Judgments About the Need for Mental Health Treatment and Willingness to Help

Abstract

Mental illness has become a major public health concern, but it is rarely studied from the point of view of laypeople. The current research used surveys to investigate ordinary people's perceptions of the need for mental health treatment in a target individual and willingness to help the target. It also investigated the mediating role of affect and cognition in these evaluative processes. Four experiments found that affect mediated the relationship between mental illness and evaluations of the need for treatment, but that cognition mediated the relationship between mental illness and people's willingness to provide help. We concluded that negative affective responses to the presence of mental illness result in increased perceptions of the need for treatment. When personal responsibility for helping was requested, people relied on cognitive processes likely associated with their own ability, knowledge, and willingness to help. This research provides a preliminary understanding of how to approach the treatment of mental illness from the point of view of the public.