The Social Psychology of Stigma

Front Cover
Todd F. Heatherton
Guilford Press, 2003 M07 16 - 450 pages
The volume demonstrates that stigma is a normal - albeit undesirable - consequence of people's limited cognitive resources, and of the social information and experiences to which they are exposed. Incorporated are the perspectives of both the perceiver and the target; the relevance of personal and collective identities; and the interplay of affective, cognitive, and behavioral processes. Particular attention is given to how stigmatized persons make meaning of their predicaments, such as by forming alternative, positive group identities.
 

Contents

Stigma Introduction and Overview
1
THE PERCEIVER
27
Why People Stigmatize Toward a Biocultural Framework
29
Threat and the Social Construction of Stigma
60
Stigma and Stereotypes
86
Ideology and Lay Theories of Stigma The Justification of Stigmatization
124
THE STIGMATIZED
149
Social Stigma and the Self Meanings Situations and Selfesteem
151
Coping with Stigma and Prejudice
241
THE SOCIAL INTERFACE
271
Awkward Moments in Interactions between Nonstigmatized and Stigmatized Individuals
273
Stigma Threat and Social Interactions
305
Too Young Too Old Stigmatizing Adolescents and Elders
332
Stigma and SelfFulfilling Prophecies
372
The Social Consequences of Physical Disability
417
Index
439

The LookingGlass Self Revisited Behavior Choice and SelfPerception in the Social Token
182
The Hidden Costs of Hidden Stigma
218

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About the author (2003)

Todd F. Heatherton, PhD, is Professor of Psychological and Brain Sciences at Dartmouth College.

Robert E. Kleck, PhD, is Professor of Psychological and Brain Sciences at Dartmouth College.

Michelle R. Hebl, PhD, is Assistant Professor of Psychology at Rice University.

Jay G. Hull, PhD, is Professor of Psychological and Brain Sciences at Dartmouth College.

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