Abstract
A neuroessentialist perspective holds that mental illness is the result of brain dysfunction. Unfortunately, essentialist beliefs promote the view that people with a mental illness are fundamentally different to people without a mental illness. This identification of difference, in turn, increases mental illness stigma. The primary aim of the current study was to compare the impact of biological (i.e., essentialist) and psychosocial explanations on mental illness stigma in students completing their Bachelor Degree in Psychology and non-psychology majors. Participants were 294 students, 170 of whom were completing a Bachelor Degree in Psychology. Consistent with previous work, our results revealed biological explanations led to higher essentialist beliefs and mental illness stigma for both psychology and non-psychology students.