Abstract
People are intrinsically interested in the personalities of public figures such as the celebrities they follow, political leaders, and citizens at the center of newsworthy events. The goal of the present article is to examine the key issues that surround ethical commentary on public figures by psychologists, psychiatrists, and other mental health professionals. Public commentaries carry with them a host of issues from representing a given discipline such as psychology well, to potentially harming an individual who is discussed, to furthering public education about personality and mental health issues. For this reason such commentary deserves special consideration as to when and how it is appropriate to carry out.
Department
Psychology
Publication Date
1-1-2012
Journal Title
Psychology of Popular Media Culture
Publisher
American Psychological Association (APA)
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
Document Type
Article
Recommended Citation
Mayer, J. D. & Leichtman, M. (2012). Saddam Hussein is “dangerous to the extreme”: The ethics of professional commentary on public figures. Psychology of Popular Media Culture, 1, 1-20.