Derogation of student female athletes who consult a sport psychologist: an alternative perspective on the negative halo effect.

This study attempts to further research female student athletes' perceptions of the sport psychologist and other sport and mental health professionals. 90 British student athletes from 17 different sports completed a two-part questionnaire to examine the potential derogation effect as a result of consulting one of three identified professionals and to explore the perceived definition and role of the sport psychologist. A fictitious selection report of a female field hockey player was presented to subjects with coach, sport psychologist and psychotherapist as the three professionals. It was hypothesised that subjects' recommendations regarding selection would differ depending on the consultant used. No differences were found which suggests the absence of a negative halo effect and that derogation would not occur within this sample group. Definitions and perceived role of the sport psychologist varied with the subjective tone of the responses from participants being mainly positive (74%). These results indicate that this female student athlete sample has a moderated, even a positive, perception of the sport psychologist. A general acceptance of the sport psychologist falls in line with the suggestions of Murstein and Fontaine (1993) concerning a reported increase in acceptance of mental health professionals.