Czy mówienie o swojej chorobie się opłaca? Wpływ informacji o depresji partnera na zachowanie w stosunku do niego w grze „zaufanie”

Katarzyna Kulwicka-Durmowicz , Agata Gąsiorowska

Abstract

Depression is one of the most common mental disorders and is considered a huge social problem. Although there are plenty of studies on depression and there is vast scientific knowledge about this disorder, little is known about the public’s knowledge about it, and even less about lay people’s behaviour toward depressed individuals. The results of research on the social perception of mental disorders indicate that while social awareness about mental disorders has increased, attitudes toward people diagnosed with them have not changed, and remain negative. Most of these studies, however, are conducted using only declarative measures. In this project we therefore used the economic game called the trust game, which allowed us to verify the actual behaviour individuals showed toward a person with depression, not only a declaration of such behaviour. In our study (N = 2 05), w e v erified w hether t he information about a co-player’s disease (her depression or diabetes) would affect the amount of money participants offered her while playing the trust game. Participants sent the lowest amounts of money, thus showing the lowest levels of trust when they were informed they were playing with a person who suffers from depression than in other experimental conditions. We also demonstrated significant sequential mediation: participants who were informed about playing with a person who suffers from depression sent lower amounts of money and therefore were less satisfied with their decision. They were, furthermore, less satisfied that the other player did not reciprocate the trust.