How Reality Shows Detect Ticking-Bomb Entrants Contestant

摘要

The staying power of reality TV—and the constant demand for competitors from all walks of life—has created a critical category of television professionals: the experts who help vet potential contestants through a battery of physical, psychological and criminal-background checks. One such expert, clinical psychologist Suzanne Zachary, Ph.D., has done psychological profiling for more than 30 reality shows, including CBS' Big Brother, UPN's America's Next Top Model and NBC's Average Joe. "We're not there to judge them," says Zachary. "I tell them: We're not perfect, and we don't expect you to be perfect. We're trying to get to know you in a very short period of time and put you into an appropriate situation so you will enjoy the experience." She spoke to B&C's Deborah Starr Seibel about the occasionally imperfect science of identifying candidates who might embarrass or undermine a production.