Label matters: how labeling and diagnosis affect lay perception of people with depressive symptoms

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cris.lastimport.scopus2025-12-17T04:13:40Z
dc.abstract.enWe investigated how the label “depression” and information about a medical diagnosis influence perceptions of individuals with depressive symptoms as legitimately experiencing depression and a medical condition. In three experiments, participants read a description of a person meeting Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) criteria for major depressive episode and manipulated whether the label “depression” and the information about a professional medical diagnosis were included. Participants were more likely to perceive the person as having depression when both the label and diagnosis were present. However, paradoxically, when a diagnosis explicitly included the word “depression”, participants were less likely to view the symptoms as indicating a legitimate medical condition than when the diagnosis omitted the term. These effects were not moderated by participants’ own experience of depression. Gender effects emerged in Experiment 3: results replicated for male protagonists but differed for female protagonists, where label effects were independent of medical diagnosis information. Finally, a meta-analysis across the three experiments supported our hypothesis that the label “depression” weakened the effect of the medical diagnosis. Moreover, participants attributed a higher degree of legitimacy to a medical condition when the diagnosis was provided by a doctor, but only when this diagnosis did not include the label “depression”.
dc.affiliationInstytut Psychologii
dc.affiliationWydział Psychologii we Wrocławiu
dc.contributor.authorKulwicka, Katarzyna
dc.contributor.authorRusowicz, Jagoda
dc.contributor.authorGąsiorowska, Agata
dc.date.access2025-09-02
dc.date.accessioned2025-09-11T09:04:13Z
dc.date.available2025-09-11T09:04:13Z
dc.date.created2025-08-25
dc.date.issued2025-09-02
dc.description.abstract<jats:p>We investigated how the label “depression” and information about a medical diagnosis influence perceptions of individuals with depressive symptoms as legitimately experiencing depression and a medical condition. In three experiments, participants read a description of a person meeting Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) criteria for major depressive episode and manipulated whether the label “depression” and the information about a professional medical diagnosis were included. Participants were more likely to perceive the person as having depression when both the label and diagnosis were present. However, paradoxically, when a diagnosis explicitly included the word “depression”, participants were less likely to view the symptoms as indicating a legitimate medical condition than when the diagnosis omitted the term. These effects were not moderated by participants’ own experience of depression. Gender effects emerged in Experiment 3: results replicated for male protagonists but differed for female protagonists, where label effects were independent of medical diagnosis information. Finally, a meta-analysis across the three experiments supported our hypothesis that the label “depression” weakened the effect of the medical diagnosis. Moreover, participants attributed a higher degree of legitimacy to a medical condition when the diagnosis was provided by a doctor, but only when this diagnosis did not include the label “depression”.</jats:p>
dc.description.accesstimeat_publication
dc.description.grantnumber2019/33/N/HS6/00833
dc.description.granttitleEfekt etykietowania a zachowania prospołeczne w stosunku do członków grupy obcej na przykładzie osób z diagnozą depresji
dc.description.physical1-16
dc.description.versionfinal_published
dc.description.volume16
dc.identifier.doi10.3389/fpsyt.2025.1612517
dc.identifier.issn1664-0640
dc.identifier.urihttps://share.swps.edu.pl/handle/swps/1769
dc.languageen
dc.pbn.affiliationpsychologia
dc.rightsCC-BY
dc.rights.questionYes_rights
dc.share.articleOPEN_JOURNAL
dc.subject.endepression
dc.subject.enlabels
dc.subject.enlabeling effect
dc.subject.endiagnosis
dc.subject.enperception of people with depressive symptoms
dc.swps.sciencecloudsend
dc.titleLabel matters: how labeling and diagnosis affect lay perception of people with depressive symptoms
dc.title.journalFrontiers in Psychiatry
dc.typeJournalArticle
dspace.entity.typeArticle