Salience of the Benefits of Psychotic Traits Buffers Against Mental Illness Stigma

Despite various interpersonal costs of psychotic traits within modern living, their continued prevalence in modern contexts may implicate them as affording adaptive benefits. One potential observed benefit is relatively heightened creativity, suggesting that perceivers may consider the costs and benefits of psychotic traits in interaction partners. This study considered how the potential benefits of creativity may buffer individuals with heightened levels of psychotic traits from mental illness stigma. Participants indicated the extent to which they would like to interact with a hypothetical social target based on that individual’s social media profile. Importantly, this target was manipulated to signal the presence (or absence) of psychotic traits while learning of that target’s creativity. Perceivers weighed the costs and benefits of psychotic traits, particularly in the presence of cues to their creativity. Specifically, women reported greater interest in interacting with a creative target reporting psychotic traits. Results provide evidence for how individuals differentially value the costs and benefits of traits implicated in severe mental illness in their affiliative decisions, which integrates an affordance management account into understanding stigma toward mental illness.