Social Stigma: The Consequences of Attributional Ambiguity

Publisher Summary A great deal of social psychological research has been devoted to understanding stereotyping and prejudice. The dominant focus of the research has been on the beliefs and reactions of the nonstigmatized, or dominant groups in society, toward those who are members of stigmatized or oppressed groups. In contrast, relatively little work has taken the perspective of the person or group who is the target of stereotypes or prejudice. This chapter presents the subjective experience of being stigmatized, from the perspective of the stigmatized person. Specifically, it addresses the cognitive, affective, motivational, and interpersonal consequences of prejudice for members of stigmatized groups. Cognitions held by the stigmatized about their stigma, including their awareness of stereotypes associated with their stigma or group, their beliefs about the content of these stereotypes, and especially, the attributions they make for the treatment and outcomes they receive, have important affective, motivational, and interpersonal consequences for the stigmatized individual.