Former APA President Alan E. Kazdin, PhD, remembers the first time he was interviewed by a reporter. "The topic was corporal punishment and it went horribly," Kazdin recalls. "The TV interviewer wanted to chat about his dad and how he was beaten."
Mary Alvord's first media experience went somewhat better. Alvord, PhD, a private practitioner in Maryland, appeared on live television on a teen show about phobias. "I had no previous experience with media interviews, much less with live TV with audience questions," she says.
Since those first forays, both Kazdin, the Sterling Professor of Psychology and Child Psychiatry at Yale University, and Alvord have done countless media interviews, learning along the way how to avoid being misquoted, and how to give reporters what they need while telling the story the psychologists want told.
And talking to the media is a great way to give psychology away, as former APA President George Miller, PhD, urged the field to do in the 1960s.
"Our research, conceptions and applications, if they are worthy, should be known to the public who support us financially in many ways and who might benefit from our work," says Frank Farley, PhD, of Temple University, another former APA president.
"Another reason is it's a way to expand the reach of one's ideas beyond the college seminar or clinic, and potentially open up some public debate … and finally, it's fun."
Here is advice from psychologists and reporters on how you can be an effective media spokesperson.
Be prepared. Suzanne C. Swan, PhD, of the University of South Carolina, had her first experience talking to mainstream media when an APA journal published one of her studies on college students and drink spiking. The main advice from Swan's university's public relations department was to write down the three key take-home points she wanted to get across. "A second was to have an answer prepared for ‘Is there anything else you would like to add?' which is usually the last question in an interview," she says.
Answer the right question. Learn how to pivot away from bad questions from ill-informed reporters. "I try to reframe the question so it is more sensible," says cognitive psychologist Elizabeth Loftus, PhD. "Then I answer that one." There are many phrases you can use in these instances, such as, "That's a very interesting question but the important thing to remember is …" or "I see your point but what I'd like to emphasize is …."
Know the risks. What Swan wasn't prepared for was the virality of today's media. She was interviewed directly by only two journalists but found that around 100 media outlets picked up the story and reproduced it without interviewing her. Some added a little bit of their own interpretation. "This is where the findings became exaggerated or differed from what the original article said," she says.
Speak in plain language. Reporters' biggest gripe about interviewing scientists? They talk in jargon. "The surest way to scare people away from science —indeed, to alienate them from the enterprise—is to be unintelligible," says Christopher Joyce, a science reporter at National Public Radio. "The less clear you are about just what your ‘story' is, the more the reporter will be tempted to gin one up."
Be prompt. Sharon Jayson, a freelancer who covered behavioral health for nine years at USA Today, advises scientists to respond quickly to an interview request since journalists are often on tight deadlines. "If someone doesn't want to be interviewed or otherwise be contacted, the courteous response is to say you don't want to participate and you'll be left alone," she says. If you know of a psychologist better suited to the topic, it's fine to refer the reporter.
Don't fret if you don't make the cut. "Try not to be disappointed if the finished story includes little or no contribution from you," says one longtime wire service science writer who asked that his name not be used. "I've had to leave plenty of good stuff from good people out of stories. Even if you're not quoted by name, you've probably influenced the final product." And, he says, don't ask to review the article before it's printed. "Many news organizations do not allow this," he says.
Show some passion. You'll be most effective if you show genuine enthusiasm for your research or area of expertise—even if you've described your work thousands of times before. "My only peeve is the sensibility pounded into scientists by their peers that to be taken seriously, they cannot enjoy themselves while talking about their work," says NPR's Joyce. "Laugh, make jokes, talk about why you do what you do, and show your passion. Being objective doesn't mean being robotic."
Be a great source. If you're accessible, easy to understand and knowledgeable, journalists will come back to you again and again. Farley estimates he does anywhere from 50 to 100 media engagements each year, in a mix of national and local outlets. These topics have been as varied as why people take risks to why an NBC Nightly News correspondent wasn't likely to win a Powerball jackpot.
Know when to decline. Don't give interviews outside your area of expertise or succumb to requests to diagnose people whom you have not examined. "I once spent about 20 minutes on the phone with an award-winning TV documentary show talking about ethical standards and limitations when I was asked to bring a client or treat one on the show," Alvord recalls.
Kazdin places limits on how much media he will do, so it doesn't detract from the rest of his work. "Sometimes, I cannot keep up with the requests. When there is a school shooting or other topic of violence, we can be on the phone for three to four hours a day for a week or more," he says. "And once something is aired, it prompts other stations, magazines, etc., to call. I often turn down many opportunities."
In the end, though, psychologists who talk often to the media feel it is worthwhile. "Take the call," Farley says. "If you don't, the media will find someone else to talk to and you might not like the results."
If you're accessible, easy to understand and knowledgeable, journalists will come back to you again and again.
Learn more about the intersection of media and psychology by reaching out to APA Div. 46 (Society for Media Psychology and Technology) at www.apadivisions.org/division-46opens in new window.