The media in American society has a major influential impact on the minds and beliefs of millions of people. Whether through the news, television shows, or film, the media acts as a huge database for knowledge and instruction. It is both an auditory and visual database that can press images and ideas into people's minds. Even if the individual has no prior exposure or knowledge to something, the media can project into people's minds and leave a lasting impression. Though obviously people are aware of what they are listening to or watching, thoughts and assumptions can drift into their minds without even realizing it. These thoughts that drift in are extremely influential. The massive impact it can leave on America's perception leads to generalizations, assumptions, and stigmas. The media influence is not always negative, however. In most cases it has beneficial and positive aspects. Without the media, people would be drastically less informed and conscientious about major issues in the world around us. In some cases, however, the way the media portrays an issue can twist one's perception, leaving an assumption instead of a factual concept. Mental illness is one of the biggest concept

Mental Hygiene 1890-1920 Mental hospital or clinic Prevention, scientific orientation

Moral Treatment 1800-1850 Asylum Humane, restorative treatment

Community Mental Health 1955-1970 Community mental health center Deinstitutionalization, social integration

Community Support 1975-present Community support Mental illness as a social welfare problem (e.g., housing, employment)

Despite the history and stigmatization surrounding mental illness, perception of the mentally ill has changed in some ways in the past few decades. Back in the 1950's, people saw mental illness as an unidentifiable and confusing concept. The public was uneducated and unaware of the truth of mental illness. Surveys and studies show that back then people could not differentiate between normal lows and diagnosable symptoms; this was due to lack of knowledge and the social stigma surrounding disorders. In the late nineties more studies were conducted that showed that the general public were now able to correctly define mental illness. Though the definition was extended to include several disorders, perceptions of the mentally ill changed according to the diagnosis of the disorder. Though some things had changed, the social stigma appears to still be with us (Star, 1952, 1955, Gurin et al., 1960, Veroff et al., 1981, Swindle et al., 1997).

Table 2-10. Historical reform movements in mental health treatment in the United States

Media portrayal greatly influences one's thoughts and behavior. When I began this project, I asked several of my friends what the first word that came to their minds was when they heard the phrase "mentally ill people". The most common response I was told was crazy. Other responses included sick, sad, hospitals, and disturbed. Though I expected those responses, I at least expected more than one person to give an answer not relating to the stereotypes surrounding mental illness. This bothered me greatly because I am a psychology major that wants to go into clinical abnormal behavior. I talk to my friends all the time about things I learn in my classes and the facts about mental illness. Yet despite that, they still tend to view mental illness in the way that it is portrayed on television and in the movies. Lack of knowledge is not the reasoning behind that, for almost all of them have taken an introductory level psychology class. The reason has to be the social stigma surrounding mental illness, which is put forth in a large part by the media. Due to these stigmas and misconceptions, most people would not go get help if they though they needed it and many people still shy away from the topic in general. It creates an uneasy feeling that if it is not thought about, it is believed it will go away. The media adds to that fact too, for rarely is the normal community shown interacting with the mentally ill. When it is shown, most of the interactions and scenarios are negatively portrayed. I always knew what kind of influence the media has on the minds of its viewers. Until I started this project and got into the research behind it, I did not realize to what effect it can have. I know that the chances of the misconceptions that media portrayal presents changing in the near future is very slim, but hopefully one day all people in America can see all the sides and reality of mental illness.

Another reason media portrayal plays a major role in perception of mental illness is due to stigmatization. This leads people to distrust, biases, stereotypes, and fear. As a result of it people avoid such situations where contact could occur (Corrigan & Penn, 1999). This response leads to people not wanting to be in the same category as the "crazy people" and thus not receiving treatment if they felt they really needed it. In the media people with mental illness are viewed as crazy and violent. In reality though over ninety percent of mentally ill people are not a risk to the community. There are more instances of violence involving those in the c

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