Stigma, staring, and discomfort: A novel-stimulus hypothesis

A Comparative Investigation of the Predictive Validity of Four Indirect Measures of Bias and Prejudice

Although measures of implicit associations are influential in the prejudice literature, comparative tests of the predictive power of these measures are lacking. A large-scale (N > 100,000) analysis of four commonly used measures-the Implicit Association Test (IAT), Single-Category IAT (SC-IAT), evaluative priming task (EPT), and sorting paired features task (SPF)-across 10 intergroup domains and 250 outcomes found clear evidence for the superiority of the SC-IAT in predictive and incremental predictive validity. Follow-up analyses suggested that the SC-IAT benefited from an exclusive focus on associations toward stigmatized group members, as associations toward non-stigmatized group members diluted the predictive strength of relative measures like the IAT, SPF, and EPT. These results highlight how conclusions about predictive validity can vary drastically depending on the measure selected and reveal novel insights about the value of different measures when focusing on predictive than convergent validity.

The Ableist stare: an interdisciplinary, narrative-driven exploration of staring at disabled bodies

In this paper, I explore a phenomenon those with visible disabilities are all too familiar with: being stared at for their disabled bodies. Drawing on the interrelated fields of psychology, narrative, autoethnography and philosophy, I argue that staring at disabled bodies morally harms disabled people. This moral harm arises from the fact that not only does staring at disabled people fundamentally treat them as means to ends in which they cannot share, and thus, violates the Kantian formula of humanity, but also because this staring results in further, consequential harms for disabled people as well. In elaborating on these consequential harms, I draw largely on the works of disability ethicists Rosemarie Garland-Thomson and Elizabeth Barnes and argue that staring at disabled people contributes to the hermeneutical injustice disabled people face in their largely ableist world. Having identified these harms, I then explore the ameliorative potential of elevating disability narrative (with various disability narratives largely leading the discussion, including my own), drawing on Hilden Lindemann's Damaged Identities, Narrative Repair, and hope to call attention to the ways in which our broader structurally ableist world contributes to disabled people being stared at for their bodies in such harmful fashion.

I Can See It in Your Eyes: Gaze as an Implicit Cue of Uncanniness and Task Performance in Repeated Interactions With Robots

Over the past years, extensive research has been dedicated to developing robust platforms and data-driven dialog models to support long-term human-robot interactions. However, little is known about how people's perception of robots and engagement with them develop over time and how these can be accurately assessed through implicit and continuous measurement techniques. In this paper, we explore this by involving participants in three interaction sessions with multiple days of zero exposure in between. Each session consists of a joint task with a robot as well as two short social chats with it before and after the task. We measure participants' gaze patterns with a wearable eye-tracker and gauge their perception of the robot and engagement with it and the joint task using questionnaires. Results disclose that aversion of gaze in a social chat is an indicator of a robot's uncanniness and that the more people gaze at the robot in a joint task, the worse they perform. In contrast with most HRI literature, our results show that gaze toward an object of shared attention, rather than gaze toward a robotic partner, is the most meaningful predictor of engagement in a joint task. Furthermore, the analyses of gaze patterns in repeated interactions disclose that people's mutual gaze in a social chat develops congruently with their perceptions of the robot over time. These are key findings for the HRI community as they entail that gaze behavior can be used as an implicit measure of people's perception of robots in a social chat and of their engagement and task performance in a joint task.

Promoting the “Social” in the Examination of Social Stigmas

This review highlights the value of empirical investigations examining actual interactions that occur between stigmatizers and targets, and is intended to stimulate and help guide research of this type. We identify trends in the literature demonstrating that research studying ongoing interactions between stigmatizers and targets is relatively less common than in the past. Interactive studies are challenging, complex, and have variables that are sometimes more difficult to control; yet, they offer unique insights and significant contributions to understanding stigma-related phenomena that may not be offered in other (e.g., self-report) paradigms. This article presents a conceptual and empirical overview of stigma research, delineates the unique contributions that have been made by conducting interactive studies, and proposes what can be further learned by conducting more of such research.

Identifying Targets of Communication Styles: An Exploratory Study

The present study investigated the identification of communication styles. Native and foreign adult judges viewed 60 audiovisual clips of women who were instructing one of four listeners: a child, a foreign adult speaker, a mentally retarded adult, or a native adult speaker of normal intelligence. The judges were asked to identify the listener in each clip. Overall, native judges were more accurate than foreign judges at identifying the listeners. In addition, more listeners were accurately identified by the native and foreign judges when the listener was a child or a normal native adult speaker Systematic errors suggest that accuracy in judgments may be influenced by similar and overlapping linguistic and paralinguistic features contained in the special communication styles and previous expectations about the listener groups.

Forming Shared Impressions Through Conversation: An Adaptation of the Continuum Model

This article adapts the assumptions of the continuum model of impression formation to address the development of shared impressions in dyads. Two experiments tested the additional assumption that the development of shared impressions depends on consensus motivation. Consensus motivation should focus conversation around stereotype-consistent information and encourage shared stereotypic impressions. However, when dyads are motivated by both consensus and accuracy, they should increase focus on stereotype-inconsistent information, then form shared individuated impressions. In both experiments, hypotheses generally were confirmed regarding consensus motivation. However, hypotheses regarding accuracy motivation met with mixed success; individuating processes were detected but failed to encourage individuated impressions. The discussion explores reasons why these experiments provide only partial support for the extended continuum model.

Some Thoughts about the Stigma Notion

Goffman (1963) believes that the stigma notion can provide a unifying perspective in the field of intergroup relations. But except for his treatment, the term stigma has never been examined as a social psychological concept. In this paper a preliminary explication is attempted. Following a brief review of Goffman's contribution, three causal models of the stigmatization process are presented: attribute-as-cause, labeling, and scapegoat. Implications for research are discussed. Next described are some important dimensions of stimulus variation among different types of stigma: visibility, threat, potential for sympathy and pity arousal, and apparent responsibility of the possessor. Attitudes of observers toward a range of stigmas appear to be ambivalent, and an ambivalence-response amplification theory of social reactions to stigmatized individuals is mentioned, along with some empirical evidence.

Brutality Under Cover of Ambiguity

Five studies tested four hypotheses on the drivers of punitive judgments. Study 1 showed that people imposed covertly retributivist physical punishments on extreme norm violators when they could plausibly deny that is what they were doing (attributional ambiguity). Studies 2 and 3 showed that covert retributivism could be suppressed by subtle accountability manipulations that cue people to the possibility that they might be under scrutiny. Studies 4 and 5 showed how covert retributivism can become self-sustaining by biasing the lessons people learn from experience. Covert retributivists did not scale back punitiveness in response to feedback that the justice system makes false-conviction errors but they did ramp up punitiveness in response to feedback that the system makes false-acquittal errors. Taken together, the results underscore the paradoxical nature of covert retributivism: It is easily activated by plausible deniability and persistent in the face of false-conviction feedback but also easily deactivated by minimalist forms of accountability.

Looking beyond the face: a training to improve perceivers' impressions of people with facial paralysis

OBJECTIVE

Healthcare providers and lay people alike tend to form inaccurate first impressions of people with facial movement disorders such as facial paralysis (FP) because of the natural tendency to base impressions on the face. This study tested the effectiveness of the first interpersonal sensitivity training for FP.

METHODS

Undergraduate participants were randomly assigned to one of two training conditions or an untrained control. Education raised awareness about FP symptoms and experiences and instructed participants to form their impressions based on cues from the body and voice rather than the face. Education+feedback added feedback about the correctness of participants' judgments. Subsequently, participants watched 30s video clips of people with FP and rated their extraversion.

RESULTS

Participants' bias and accuracy in the two training conditions did not significantly differ, but they were significantly less biased than controls. Training did not improve the more challenging task of accurately detecting individual differences in extraversion.

CONCLUSION

Educating people improves bias, but not accuracy, of impressions of people with FP.

PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS

Information from the education condition could be delivered in a pamphlet to those likely to interact with this population such as healthcare providers and educators.

Disease avoidance as a functional basis for stigmatization

Stigmatization is characterized by chronic social and physical avoidance of a person(s) by other people. Infectious disease may produce an apparently similar form of isolation-disease avoidance-but on symptom remission this often abates. We propose that many forms of stigmatization reflect the activation of this disease-avoidance system, which is prone to respond to visible signs and labels that connote disease, irrespective of their accuracy. A model of this system is presented, which includes an emotional component, whereby visible disease cues directly activate disgust and contamination, motivating avoidance, and a cognitive component, whereby disease labels bring to mind disease cues, indirectly activating disgust and contamination. The unique predictions of this model are then examined, notably that people who are stigmatized evoke disgust and are contaminating. That animals too show avoidance of diseased conspecifics, and that disease-related stigma targets are avoided in most cultures, also supports this evolutionary account. The more general implications of this approach are then examined, notably how it can be used to good (e.g. improving hygiene) or bad (e.g. racial vilification) ends, by yoking particular labels with cues that connote disease and disgust. This broadening of the model allows for stigmatization of groups with little apparent connection to disease.

Attitudes and physical distance to an individual with schizophrenia: the moderating effect of self-transcendent values

BACKGROUND

There is evidence that personal value priorities may influence prejudicial behaviors. In particular, it has been hypothesized that those who place a high priority on values such as equality, benevolence and social justice may be less likely to express any prejudicial personal attitudes in behavior. In the present study, we tested this hypothesis in the context of physical distance with reference to a person with schizophrenia. Self-transcendent value priorities and attitudes toward a young woman described as having schizophrenia were assessed in 95 university students. They were then led to anticipate meeting the person and the distance they sat from the expected location of the ill person was assessed.

RESULTS

Women sat closer to the anticipated seat of the person with schizophrenia. In addition, there was a significant interaction between priority placed on self-transcendent values and attitude toward the person in predicting seating distance. There was a significant relationship between favorability of attitudes and sitting closer for those who were low in self-transcendent values, but attitudes did not predict physical proximity for those with high self-transcendent values.

CONCLUSION

The impact of attitudes toward an individual with schizophrenia and subtle aspects of behavior such as physical proximity appear to be moderated by self-transcendent personal values. The role of implicit in comparison to explicit attitudes in explaining these results is worthy for further investigation.

Reducing self-stigma in substance abuse through acceptance and commitment therapy: Model, manual development, and pilot outcomes

Little is known about the assessment and treatment of self-stigma in substance abusing populations. This article describes the development of an acceptance based treatment (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy - ACT) for self-stigma in individuals in treatment for substance use disorder. We report initial outcomes from a study with 88 participants in a residential treatment program. The treatment involves 6 h of a group workshop focused on mindfulness, acceptance, and values work in relation to self-stigma. Preliminary outcomes showed medium to large effects across a number of variables at post-treatment. Results were as expected with one potential process of change, experiential avoidance, but results with other potential mediators were mixed.

Psychosocial implications of disfigurement and the future of human face transplantation

Although the first face transplants have been attempted, the social and psychological debates concerning the ethics and desirability of the procedure continue. Critics contend that these issues have not yet been sufficiently addressed. With this in mind, the present article seeks to elaborate on key psychological and social factors that will be central for addressing the ethical and psychosocial challenges necessary to move face transplantation into mainstream medicine. The goals of this article are to (1) discuss the psychosocial sequelae of facial disfiguration and how face transplantation may relieve those problems, and (2) delineate inclusion and exclusion criteria for the selection of research subjects for face transplantation. The article uses concepts from symbolic interaction theory in sociology to articulate a theoretically coherent scheme for comprehending the psychosocial difficulties of facial disfiguration and the advantages offered by facial transplantation. The authors conclude that the psychosocial implications of disfigurement warrant surgical intervention and that research in the area of face transplantation should continue.

Elderly people's attitudes and perceptions of aging and old age: the role of cognitive dissonance?

OBJECTIVE

The aim of the research was to examine if and, how the attitudes and perceptions were changing during the aging process. The research sample included three hundred and eighty-eight elderly people between the ages of 65-92 who were sampled for the purpose of analyzing and comparing their attitudes and perceptions of old age and aging, in the present, to their attitudes and perceptions of these two concepts in the past.

METHOD

The research tool was composed of two parts: (A) a short demographic questionnaire which examined the following variables: gender, age, origin, family status and subjective health definition. (B) the second part was essentially qualitative in which subjects were asked via an 'interviewer' to reply to an identical question relating to two different periods in their lives: in their youth (when you were a young man/woman) and today. The data received from the questionnaires was processed in two main methods: quantitatively-statistically and qualitatively-content analysis.

RESULTS

The subjects' attitudes were categorized into six different typologies which were identified on a continuum: elderly people whose attitude towards old age and aging was negative both in the present and in the past were positioned at one end of the continuum. Subjects with a positive attitude towards old age, both in their youth and in the present were positioned at the opposite end of the continuum. Negative attitudes were more prominently described by powerful adjectives than positive attitudes were described by the subjects. For instance: 'Fear', 'Disgust'. In the description of the positive attitude only one powerful adjective was used 'Splendor and glory'.

CONCLUSIONS

A significant correlation was found between subjects whose attitudes towards old age in the present were negative and those who subjectively defined their health as bad.

Exploring supportive care needs and experiences of facial surgery patients

Research suggests that an important determinant of psychosocial outcomes following disfiguring surgery is social support. Healthcare professionals are in a position to offer emotional support to patients undergoing surgery, but evidence regarding the experience of supportive care among facial surgery patients is sparse. This study explored the experiences of facial surgery patients and their friends or family with regard to support from healthcare professionals. Twenty-nine facial surgery patients and nine significant others (eight marital partners and one close family member) participated in indepth interviews and focus groups, and the data were analysed using a grounded theory form of coding. Analysis identified three main categories of support: informational, practical and emotional. Findings also showed discrepancies between patients' need for emotional support and provision by healthcare staff.

Underlying processes in the implicit association test: dissociating salience from associations

The authors investigated whether effects of the Implicit Association Test (IAT) are influenced by salience asymmetries, independent of associations. Two series of experiments analyzed unique effects of salience by using nonassociated, neutral categories that differed in salience. In a 3rd series, salience asymmetries were manipulated experimentally while holding associations between categories constant. In a 4th series, valent associations of the target categories were manipulated experimentally while holding salience asymmetries constant. Throughout, IAT effects were found to depend on salience asymmetries. Additionally, salience asymmetries between categories were assessed directly with a visual search task to provide an independent criterion of salience asymmetries. Salience asymmetries corresponded to IAT effects and also accounted for common variance in IAT effects and explicit measures of attitudes or the self-concept.

A justification-suppression model of the expression and experience of prejudice

The authors propose a justification-suppression model (JSM), which characterizes the processes that lead to prejudice expression and the experience of one's own prejudice. They suggest that "genuine" prejudices are not directly expressed but are restrained by beliefs, values, and norms that suppress them. Prejudices are expressed when justifications (e.g., attributions, ideologies, stereotypes) release suppressed prejudices. The same process accounts for which prejudices are accepted into the self-concept The JSM is used to organize the prejudice literature, and many empirical findings are recharacterized as factors affecting suppression or justification, rather than directly affecting genuine prejudice. The authors discuss the implications of the JSM for several topics, including prejudice measurement, ambivalence, and the distinction between prejudice and its expression.

Adjusting to disfigurement: processes involved in dealing with being visibly different

This paper reviews current psychological understandings of the process of adjustment to acquired and congenital disfiguring conditions, such as burns, dermatological diseases, and cleft palate. It is primarily aimed at researchers and clinicians interested in understanding and ameliorating the psychosocial impact of such disfigurements. The literature was accessed using psychological, medical, and nursing databases. The research indicates that the experience of disfigurement is multifaceted, involving individual and societal factors. The adjustment process involves the way that disfigured people interpret their disfigurement, their self, and their encounters with others. These interpretations are likely to be influenced by the interaction between various underlying cognitive self-schemas and the social context. Efficacious interventions provide disfigured people with practical strategies to deal with social encounters and/or tackle underlying cognitive processes. However, many of the studies examined were methodologically limited or uninformed by psychological theory. Future research is needed to gain a better appreciation of the experience of living with a disfigurement and to inform the development of effective clinical interventions. In particular, there is a need for studies using longitudinal and qualitative methologies, as this would foster greater understanding of the psychological and emotional processes involved in adjusting to disfiguring conditions.

Factors affecting behavior toward people with disabilities

Two field experiments were designed to explore ambivalence-induced behavior toward people with disabilities in low-cost helping situations. In Experiment 1, confederates, who either rode in a wheelchair or walked, asked shoppers for a small sum of money and either provided a reason (positive presentation) or did not provide a reason (negative presentation) for the request. Contrary to prediction, more people with a physical disability than without a physical disability were helped, regardless of their presentation. In Experiment 2, the presence of confederates in wheelchairs resulted in significantly fewer violations of parking spaces reserved for people with handicaps.

Organizational socialization of employees with disabilities: Critical issues and implications for workplace interventions

Organizational socialization is the process whereby newcomers to work organizations become insiders. The socialization process has been linked to various outcomes including newcomer job satisfaction, organizational commitment, job knowledge and performance, promotion and advancement rate, salary, and turnover. The purpose of the present paper is threefold: (1) to examine issues facing persons with disabilities during organizational socialization in order to help guide future research on this topic; (2) to provide an awareness of potential aditional barriers (unrealistic newcomer expectations, interaction avoidance, "norm to be kind," low work group expectations) that face newcomers with disabilities as they begin jobs; and (3) to suggest some possible policies, programs, and interventions that might help persons with disabilities to overcome those barriers.

Attitudes of medical students and health-care professionals toward people with disabilities

This study used the Attitude Towards Disabled Persons Scale (ATDP) to investigate differences in attitudes toward individuals with physical disabilities among first-year and fourth-year medical students and health-care professionals. Of 851 questionnaires sent out, 310 were returned, and 297 were used in the final analyses. The fourth-year medical students had significantly more positive attitudes toward people with physical disabilities when compared to the first-year medical students. Differences between health-care professionals and fourth-year medical students were nonsignificant. Across the sample, females, compared to males, and whites, compared to Asians, were found to hold significantly more positive attitudes toward people with physical disabilities. Contact with people with physical disabilities did not have to be on an equal-status basis to have a positive effect on attitudes toward people with physical disabilities. The need for health and educational disciplines to further the movement towards integration of people with physical disabilities was emphasized, and suggestions for future research were offered.