Multi-Health Systems
steven.stein@mhs.com
Some of the most watched “entertainment” on screens around the world today are unscripted TV shows, or what is commonly known as reality TV. For example, the recent Amazon Prime show, Beast Games, with Mr. Beast (ask your kids/grandkids who he is) had over 50 million viewers in its first 25 days of release. Uninformed critics of reality TV often refer to these shows as fake or predetermined. While the situations on these shows are often set up, the cast reactions are not. After all, if people wanted to watch fake emotions they’d stick to scripted drama and sitcoms. If you really want to understand reality TV, think Candid Camera, that show from the 1960s.
I have been fortunate to be the psychologist for dozens of reality TV shows (many with multiple seasons) and have screened thousands of applicants for these shows. Some of the programs I have worked with include scare shows, interpersonal/manipulation skills/social experiment, lifestyle, navigation skills/competition, murder/mystery, culinary skills, athletics, dating, artistic skills, home building/renovating, and physical and mental challenges, among many others. Each of these genres of program has its own challenges and rewards.
Psychologist Role
The role of psychologist on these shows has several different facets. The most common criteria for eligibility in this role includes licensure as a clinical psychologist. Your first and foremost duty is to ensure the psychological safety of contestants as best you can. However, the psychologist role can include several components. First, there’s screening applicants through psychological testing and interviewing. Then, there can be preparing contestants and ensuring they know what they’re getting into just before filming starts. Knowledge of social psychology is useful when discussing possible scenarios with producers. The psychologist can be responsible for psychological care of contestants throughout production. There are usually post eviction interviews upon candidate eliminations from the show. Finally, there may be some follow up adjustment interviews or psychologist referrals afterwards.
Risks of Reality TV
While there has been no shortage of criticisms of reality TV—see here and here—there are, in my opinion, potential benefits as well. Just as there are good and bad dramas, sitcoms, or any other genre, so it goes with reality TV. Reality TV can, in some cases, be unhealthy for participants as well as have a negative influence on its audience. Proper screening of candidates can significantly reduce the risk of harm to contestants. There have been reported possible negative effects on viewers as well, as cited above.
Benefits of Reality TV
At the same time, I have seen a number of benefits of reality TV for both participants and viewers. From my experience, the major networks (NBC, CBS, MTV, etc.) and streaming services (Amazon Prime, Netflix) are the most responsible in terms of participant care. These networks tend to have teams of compliance and diligence lawyers overseeing the entire process. For example, when being selected as a psychologist for the first time by a network, some have asked to see a doctoral degree diploma, a license to practice, several references from previous TV shows, criminal background check, as well as a lengthy interview.
Networks and production companies depend on the psychologist, medics, and physician to ensure candidate safety throughout. Major networks tend to err on the side of caution. My work is mainly with the major networks, so, I can mostly speak about what I call the more credible or “higher end” reality shows. I do not have experience with lower budget, shock value productions.
Candidate Welfare
Most production companies and networks are concerned about the physical and mental welfare of contestants. After all, the last thing they want is a major lawsuit. Having a psychologist as part of the crew further confirms this. In addition to screening, and availability of care during production, some production companies provide for a limited number of psychology sessions as part of aftercare if needed.
One of the things that has fascinated me are some of the responses I get during my debriefs of contestants. I would estimate that in about 75% of cases candidates will report on things they have learned about themselves. It can be either related to their own thinking, feeling, and behaving, or to the way they relate to others. It is sometimes described as a growth process.
The outcome reminds me of work we have done in corporate environments with simulated training exercises. In these programs we often induce a stressful event or two during these simulations. There tends to be a sense of bonding among the participants who have successfully navigated the stressful experience. Reality TV contestants often form bonds with fellow participants that can last for years. They describe their intense experiences as something only they can understand.
Viewer Edutainment
Another benefit I have found includes a learning experience for audiences. As psychologists, we typically get to influence between 30 and maybe a couple of hundred students in our classroom lecturing. On TV we have introduced millions of viewers to issues that include experiences of being bullied growing up, living with ADHD, Tourette’s syndrome, gender issues such as non-binary, addictions, immigration, indigenous experiences, cultural information, and other contemporary issues. However, we do not lecture about them; contestants express their thoughts and feelings in their own words on camera. They have often told me how grateful they are to have had a chance to tell their story to a large national audience. Some have gone on to be spokespersons for their particular community because of the platform they had been given.
So, I hope that the next time someone mentions something to you about reality TV your initial response is not to dismiss it out of hand. Why not ask a few questions about it? Why do they watch it? What did they get out of it? Was it just entertainment, escapism, or anything surprising? Better still, why not pick one of these shows and watch it for your own enlightenment. At the very least you might get a better understanding of where your clients go for escapism.
