Turning Our Attention to Stigma: An Objective Self-Awareness Analysis of Stigma and Its Consequences

Abstract

Scholars have long debated stigma's effects on the psychological functioning of its targets, with some concluding that stigma does not harm self-esteem (Crocker & Major, 1989), and others taking the opposite stance. We propose a resolution to this debate by applying the theory of objective self-awareness (Duval & Wicklund, 1972) to the literature on the psychological consequences of stigma. We argue that public stigma has negative consequences when its targets focus objectively on their stigmatized status. Explicitly applying objective self-awareness theory to the stigma literature casts new light on past findings and suggests directions for future research.

Notes

Note that our discussion does not pertain to those times when membership in a publicly stigmatized group creates some external disparity (such as disparity in treatment, disparity in healthcare opportunities) which, in turn, negatively affects targets. Although this latter category includes consequences that are very real and very damaging (see Jost & Kay, 2010; Sidanius & Pratto, 1999), most of these consequences can be traced to institutional discrimination and thus do not apply to the present discussion.