Social Stigma and Discrimination Practice Flashcards

Vocabulary-style flashcards covering definitions, models, and research findings regarding the psychology of stigma, discrimination, and coping mechanisms.

Stigma (Goffman definition)

An attribute that deeply discredits a person and reduces them “from a whole and usual person to a tainted, discounted one.”

Stigma (Crocker, Major and Steele definition)

An attribute or characteristic that conveys a social identity devalued in a particular social context.

Prejudice

The attitudinal component of stigma involving negative attitudes, beliefs, evaluations, or emotions toward a person or group.

Discrimination

The behavioral component of stigma meaning unequal treatment, exclusion, reduced access to opportunities, or hostile behavior.

Labeling

The first component of the Link and Phelan model involving the identification and naming of human differences.

Stereotyping

The component of the Link and Phelan model involving associating labeled differences with negative attributes.

Separation

Creating an “us” vs “them” division based on human differences in the Link and Phelan model.

Status loss

A component of stigma where the labeled group loses social value.

Power

The social, economic, or political element required for the full sociological stigma process to unfold according to Link and Phelan.

Abominations of the body

One of Goffman’s three types of stigma, including physical deformities, disability, and visible bodily differences.

Blemishes of individual character

Attributes seen as moral weakness or personal defect, such as addiction, mental illness, or a criminal record.

Tribal stigmas

Stigma types based on race, ethnicity, religion, nationality, or family lineage.

Concealability

A stigma dimension referring to whether an attribute can be hidden in ordinary interaction.

Course

A stigma dimension addressing whether an attribute is temporary, persistent, worsening, or recurring.

Disruptiveness

The extent to which an attribute disrupts ordinary social interaction.

Aesthetics

A stigma dimension concerning whether an attribute elicits physical revulsion or discomfort.

Origin

The dimension of stigma referring to whether the person is seen as responsible for the characteristic.

Peril

The extent to which a stigmatized person is perceived as dangerous, contagious, or threatening.

Awkward cluster

A category of 93 stigmas (e.g., autism, blindness) characterized by high visibility, high disruptiveness, and low aesthetics problem.

Threatening cluster

Stigmas that are more concealable but aesthetically unappealing, such as alcohol dependence or criminal record, perceived as dangerous.

Sociodemographic cluster

Highly visible and persistent stigmas, such as race or old age, that are not necessarily perceived as disruptive or dangerous.

Keep people down

The social function of stigmatization involving exploitation, domination, and maintaining hierarchy.

Keep people in

The social function of stigmatization involving the enforcement of social norms and punishment of violations.

Keep people away

The social function of stigmatization involving the avoidance of disease, contamination, or threat.

Enacted stigma

Actual experiences of discrimination and negative treatment.

Perceived stigma

The awareness that one’s social group is devalued by others.

Anticipated stigma

The expectation of future discrimination or rejection.

Internalized stigma (Self-stigma)

Accepting negative stereotypes about one’s own group as being true.

Expectancy confirmation processes

A mechanism where stereotypes shape perceiver behavior, which then provokes a target response that confirms the original expectation.

Social identity threat

The concern that one’s social identity is devalued or negatively stereotyped in a specific situation.

Stereotype threat

A subtype of social identity threat where a person fears their poor performance will confirm a negative group stereotype.

Ego depletion

The state where regulatory resources are exhausted by the mental load of coping with stigma, resulting in impaired self-control.

Individual mobility

A Social Identity Theory strategy involving distancing oneself from a low-status group.

Social creativity

Redefining the comparison between groups to protect group value by using new dimensions or changing values.

Social competition

Coping by directly challenging group hierarchy to improve the group's status.

Stigma consciousness

The extent to which people expect to be stereotyped by others based on their group membership (Pinel).

Rejection sensitivity

The anxious expectation, ready perception, and intense reaction to rejection based on a devalued group membership.

Concealable stigma

A devalued identity or condition that is not immediately visible unless disclosed.

Discredited

A status where a person's stigma is already visible or known by others.

Discreditable

A status where a person's stigma is hidden but carries the risk of being discovered.

Disclosure

A situation where a person verbally reveals a concealable stigmatized identity to a confidant who did not previously know it.

Minority stress

Additional, chronic, and socially based stress experienced by disadvantaged minority groups.

Distal minority stress

External, objective stressors such as structural exclusion, violence, and interpersonal discrimination.

Proximal minority stress

Internal psychological processes such as expectation of rejection, concealment, and internalized homophobia.

Heterosexism

An ideological system that reinforces the denigration of non-heterosexual identity, behavior, or relationships.

Formal discrimination

Explicit, rule-based outcomes such as hiring decisions or promotion approvals.

Interpersonal discrimination

Subtle behaviors during interaction, including tone of voice, eye contact, and distance.

Descriptive stereotypes

Beliefs regarding what group members are actually like.

Prescriptive stereotypes

Beliefs regarding what group members should be like.

Proscriptive stereotypes

Beliefs regarding what group members should not be like.

Backlash

Social or economic penalties imposed on individuals for counterstereotypical behavior.

Status Incongruity Hypothesis

The idea that backlash is motivated by the defense of the status quo when behavior violates status expectations.

Backlash avoidance

The fear of succeeding or behaving counterstereotypically because of potential social punishment.

Weight stigma

The social devaluation and denigration of people perceived to carry excess weight.

Cognitive reappraisal

Changing the way one thinks about a situation to regulate emotion and buffer discrimination-related distress.