A Social Cognition Perspective of Stigma A presentation at Lawrence University on May 18, 2006 by JOHN B. PRYOR, Ph.D. Illinois State University

Outline of Today’s Talk 1) What is a stigma? Some basic concepts. 2) Some theories about stigma: Evolutionary Psychology & Socio-Cultural Approaches 3) A dual process model of reactions to stigma 4) Study 1: A time course in reactions to a variety of different stigmas - the roles of disgust sensitivity, motivational to control prejudice, and attributions about onset control 4) Study 2: Evidence for two factors in reactions to children with HIV/AIDS 5) Study 3: The unfolding impact of reflexive and rule- based processes in reactions to PWAs over time 6) Conclusions

According to Crocker, Major, and Steele (1998) "a person who is stigmatized is a person whose social identity, or membership in some social category calls into question his or her full humanity- -the person is devalued, spoiled or flawed in the eyes of others (p. 504)."

Erving Goffman (1963) identified several types of stigma.

an abomination of the body mastectomy

an abomination of the body

blemishes of individual moral character Drug addict

blemishes of individual moral character Homeless man

tribal stigma of race, nation, religion, family, or other social group Muslim cleric

courtesy stigma - acquired through chosen affiliation Girlfriend of Klansman

Theories of Stigma

The Evolutionary Psychology Perspective on Stigma The social exclusion of the stigmatized is found across all cultures and even in many non-human animals. Stigma avoidance may have helped our ancestors survive. Kurzban & Leary (2001) Evolutionary psychologists suggest that human beings evolved to avoid: –Poor social exchange partners –Members of lower status or conflicting groups –People likely to carry communicable pathogens.

Socio-Cultural Perspectives on Stigma People learn to associate negative evaluations with group labels. Negative reactions to persons with stigma essentially represent a form of prejudice. People also learn that it is socially acceptable to express negative reactions to some groups and not others (a form of political correctness). The perceived onset controllability of a stigma is crucially related to whether prejudice is socially acceptable or not. Crandall & Eshleman, 2003

The Case of Obesity According to BMI analyses, 31% of Americans are obese. Only 19% describe themselves as such. Obesity has been shown to relate to negative employment decisions in hiring, promotion, & firing. Obesity is a more powerful stigma for white women. Mildly obese white women make 5.9% lower wages than their standard weight counterparts; morbidly obese white women make 24.1% lower. Parents are less likely to financially support their heavyweight daughters’ college educations. In a study of adolescent overweight girls, 96 percent reported perceived negative experiences because of their weight, including hurtful comments, weight- related teasing, jokes and derogatory names.

Source: Pew Research Center (2006)

The blame game People have less negative reactions to obese people when they are told that the person has genetic disorder Cross-cultural studies show that the tendency to blame obese persons for their conditions varies across cultures. More negative reactions are found in cultures where there is an ideology of blame.

The Dual Process Model People have bothREFLEXIVE &RULE-BASED psychological reactions to stigmas.

A dual-process model of reactions to perceived stigma Reflexive Processes Immediate reactionsImmediate reactions Often emotional, often negative, often involve avoidanceOften emotional, often negative, often involve avoidance May reflect instinctual processesMay reflect instinctual processes May reflect associative processesMay reflect associative processes Rule-based Processes Thoughtful, deliberative reactionsThoughtful, deliberative reactions Take time to unfoldTake time to unfold Control processesControl processes May involve approach or avoidanceMay involve approach or avoidance Bring into play attributional considerations – why questionsBring into play attributional considerations – why questions

Psychological Impact Time Rule-based processes Reflexive processes The Psychological Impact of Rule-based and Reflexive Processes Over Time

Study 1: Reflexive and rule-based factors predict reactions to a variety of different stigmas

Study 1: Hypotheses Social norms about blame will be related to how people react to stigmas. The relationship between blame and negative reactions to stigmas will be more pronounced after people have had time to think about their reactions. Sensitivity to certain emotions will enhance initial avoidance toward stigmas. As people have time to think about their reactions to stigmas, they will be more likely to adjust them according to their motives to be politically correct.

Mean Ratings of Personal Responsibility for the Onset of Stigmas Personal Responsibility for Onset

Instructions to Participants Imagine that you have a summer job working at a hospital. The title of your job is "TRANSPORTATION SPECIALIST." The hospital is very large and has many different units. Units include an emergency room, critical care, drug/alcohol rehabilitation, oncology (cancer unit), cardiac unit, psychiatric unit, and counseling services. Your primary task is to transport patients from each unit to the discharge area. This task includes physically moving patients--helping them to get in and out of a wheelchair. Every patient is required to leave the hospital in a wheelchair irregardless of whether the person is capable of walking. You are also expected to initiate conversation with the patients. In this experiment you will be introduced to a variety of different people. Imagine that these individuals are the patients you have to transport to the discharge area.

AIDS

Approach/Avoidance Reactions to Persons with Stigmas Perceived to have Controllable, Neutral, or Uncontrollable Onsets

Sensitivity to Disgust Scale Haidt, McCauley, & Rozin (1994) Food - I might be willing to eat monkey meat under some circumstances.Food - I might be willing to eat monkey meat under some circumstances. Animals - It would bother me to see a rat run across my path in a park.Animals - It would bother me to see a rat run across my path in a park. Body Products - It bothers me to hear someone clear a throat full of mucous.Body Products - It bothers me to hear someone clear a throat full of mucous. Sex - I think homosexual activities are immoral.Sex - I think homosexual activities are immoral. Envelope Violations - You see a man with his intestines exposed after an accident.Envelope Violations - You see a man with his intestines exposed after an accident. Death - It would bother me tremendously to touch a dead body.Death - It would bother me tremendously to touch a dead body. Hygiene - You discover that a friend of your changes underwear only once a week.Hygiene - You discover that a friend of your changes underwear only once a week. Magic - A friend offers you a piece of chocolate shaped like dog doo.Magic - A friend offers you a piece of chocolate shaped like dog doo. 8 domains of disgust (Coefficient Alpha =.82)

Motivation to Control Prejudice Against Persons with Stigma Questionnaire Pryor, Reeder, Yeadon, & Hesson-McInnis (2004) Coefficient Alpha =.88 1) I attempt to act in non-prejudiced ways towards people with AIDS (people who have cancer, people who are obese) because it is personally important to me. 2) I am personally motivated by my beliefs to be non-prejudiced towards people with AIDS (people who have cancer, people who are obese). 3) Being non-prejudiced towards people with AIDS (people who have cancer, people who are obese) is important to my self concept. 4) My personal beliefs and values determine how I respond to people with AIDS (people who have cancer, people who are obese) more than my concern with others’ reactions. 5) My personal beliefs and standards are more important in my decision for how to act towards people with AIDS (people who have cancer, people who are obese) than is my concern for how others will react.

Percent of Variance in Relationships between Distance and Disgust Sensitivity vs. Motivation to Control Prejudice regarding Stigma over Time

Study 2: Can arbitrary associations produce reflexive reactions to a stigma?

homosexualityhomosexuality deathdeath illnessillness misfortunemisfortune drug use A Stigma Evokes a Collection of Associationsaffect affect affectaffect affect

x x x x x x x x x x affect Can reflexive reactions to a stigma be activated by an arbitrary associative chain?

Attitudes toward lesbians and gay men EXAMPLE ITEMS Female homosexuality is bad for society because it breaks down the natural divisions between the sexes. State laws against private sexual behavior between consenting adult women should be abolished. Female homosexuality is a sin. I think male homosexuals are disgusting. If a man has homosexual feelings, he should do everything he can to overcome them. Male homosexuality is merely a different kind of lifestyle that should not be condemned.

Motivation to Control Prejudice Against PWAs Questionnaire (Coefficient Alpha =.76) 1) I attempt to act in non-prejudiced ways towards people with AIDS because it is personally important to me. 2) I am personally motivated by my beliefs to be non-prejudiced towards people with AIDS. 3) Being non-prejudiced towards people with AIDS is important to my self concept. 4) My personal beliefs and values determine how I respond to people with AIDS more than my concern with others’ reactions. 5) My personal beliefs and standards are more important in my decision for how to act towards people with AIDS than is my concern for how others will react.

R =.37 F (1,97)=14.93, p <.01 Step 1 Step 2 R =.46 F (1,96)=9.89, p <.01 (for change) Hierarchical Multiple Regression for 98 Undergraduates Attitudes toward having lunch with Child with HIV Attitudes toward Lesbians & Gay Men Motivation To Control Prejudice

Attitudes toward Lesbians & Gay Men R =.32 F (1,97)=10.79, p <.01 Step 1 Step 2 Motivation To Control Prejudice R =.46 F (1,96)=13.96, p <.01 (for change) Hierarchical Multiple Regression for 98 Undergraduates Attitudes toward having lunch with Child with HIV

Study 3: A time course in the impact of reflexive and reflective factors on reactions to someone with HIV/AIDS

Psychological Impact Time Rule-based processes Reflexive processes The Psychological Impact of Rule-based and Reflexive Processes Over Time

Participants were told they would be going on a “trust walk” with the other participant they rated most positively

Online Questionnaire Completed by Participants

Screen used by participants to react to information concerning the “other participants.”

Questions & Answers Where are you from and how long have you been at ISU? Do you belong to any organizations on campus or do you work? List your three favorite hobbies? What do you feel makes you unique? What do you feel makes you unique? Where do you see yourself in 5 years? I am from Peoria and I am a freshman I pledged a fraternity this year sports, going to frat stuff, computer games (like Tomb Raider) After a car accident, I had a blood transfusion. From that transfusion I got HIV/AIDS. After a car accident, I had a blood transfusion. From that transfusion I got HIV/AIDS. I want to get a Masters & work for a large software company. I want to develop software and some day have my own company and be filthy rich

Distance from Person Time (secs.) Distance from all 3 Persons Over Time on the Fourth Trial PWA Honors Student Burglar

Relationships of Avoidance of a PWA to Internal Motivation to Control Prejudice and Heterosexuals' Attitudes toward Homosexuality on the 4th Trial Time (500 ms. intervals)

Conclusions of Today’s Talk Psychological reactions to perceived stigma involve two processes: an immediate, reflexive process and a more thoughtful, rule-based process. These two processes do not seem to function in some discrete stage- like fashion, rather they interact dynamically to influence approach/avoidance reactions over time. Anti-stigma interventions could attempt to alter either or both processes. Interventions that have incorporated contact with stigmatized persons have been shown to be effective in reducing negative reactions to persons with HIV, persons with mental illnesses, and other stigmatized groups. Contact interventions may reduce reflexive negative reactions.