Discussion
As seen in the results
the findings for both hypotheses were insignificant. However there was a bit of
hope in the fact that the conformity rate in the group with the partner
claiming to have bipolar disorder was higher than the group without. This could
mean that maybe with a larger participant pool the results could eventually
support my hypothesis. I feel that more participants would be ideal for this
study in the future. Since there was no significant interaction between the
conformity rate and Fear of Negative Evaluation scale, then it may be helpful
to add another scale to the study, maybe one that measures a persons’
experience or knowledge with and about the mentally ill. Even though this
particular study could not find an effect between stigma and conformity does
not mean that future research does not need to be done! This is a very large
issue among the mentally ill and it severely needs to be addressed!
