Social Stigma

18 Nov 2004 12:58 AR AR231-PS56-15.tex AR231-PS56-15.
sgm LaTeX2e(2002/01/18) P1: IKH

10.1146/annurev.psych.56.091103.070137
Annu. Rev. Psychol. 2005. 56:393421

doi: 10.1146/annurev.psych.56.091103.070137
Copyright c 2005 by Annual Reviews. All rights reserved
First published online as a Review in Advance on September 14, 2004
THE SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY OF STIGMA

Brenda Major and Laurie T. OBrien
Department of Psychology, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara,
California 93105; email: [email protected], [email protected]
Annu. Rev. Psychol. 2005.56:393-421. Downloaded from www.annualreviews.org
Key Words social identity, identity threat, stress and coping, stereotyping,
by UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON on 09/29/10. For personal use only.
prejudice, discrimination
Abstract This chapter addresses the psychological effects of social stigma. Stig-
ma directly affects the stigmatized via mechanisms of discrimination, expectancy con-
firmation, and automatic stereotype activation, and indirectly via threats to personal and
social identity. We review and organize recent theory and empirical research within an
identity threat model of stigma. This model posits that situational cues, collective rep-
resentations of ones stigma status, and personal beliefs and motives shape appraisals
of the significance of stigma-relevant situations for well-being. Identity threat results
when stigma-relevant stressors are appraised as potentially harmful to ones social iden-
tity and as exceeding ones coping resources. Identity threat creates involuntary stress
responses and motivates attempts at threat reduction through coping strategies. Stress
responses and coping efforts affect important outcomes such as self-esteem, academic
achievement, and health. Identity threat perspectives help to explain the tremendous
variability across people, groups, and situations in responses to stigma.
CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 394
CONCEPTUALIZING STIGMA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 394
MECHANISMS OF STIGMATIZATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 396
Negative Treatment and Discrimination . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 396
Expectancy Confirmation Processes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 396
Automatic Stereotype Activation-Behavior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 397
Stigma as Identity Threat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 397
A MODEL OF STIGMA-INDUCED IDENTITY THREAT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 398
Collective Representations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 399
Situational Cues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 399
Personal Characteristics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 400
Identity Threat Appraisals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 402
Involuntary Responses to Identity Threat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 402
Coping in Response to Threats to the Self . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 403
OUTCOMES OF STIGMATIZATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 406
Self-Esteem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 406
Academic Achievement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 408
0066-4308/05/0203-0393$14.00 393
18 Nov 2004 12:58 AR AR231-PS56-15.tex AR231-PS56-15.sgm LaTeX2e(2002/01/18) P1: IKH
394 MAJOR OBRIEN
Health . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 409
CONCLUSIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 411
INTRODUCTION
Stigma is a powerful phenomenon with far-ranging effects on its targets (Crocker
et al. 1998, Jones et al. 1984, Link & Phelan 2001). Stigma has been linked to poor
mental health, physical illness, academic underachievement, infant mortality, low
social status, poverty, and reduced access to housing, education, and jobs (Allison
1998, Braddock & McPartland 1987, Clark et al. 1999, Yinger 1994). Although
psychologists have long been interested in the causes of stereotyping, prejudice,

and discrimination, only recently have they focused in earnest on understanding

the psychological effects of these processes.
The roots of contemporary perspectives on stigma can be traced to Erving
Goffmans (1963) classic book Stigma: Notes on the Management of a Spoiled
Identity. In the 1980s, theory and research began to challenge traditional perspec-
tives on how stigma affects self-esteem (Crocker & Major 1989) and academic
performance (Steele 1992, Steele & Aronson 1995), among other outcomes (Jones
et al. 1984). This emphasis on the situational nature of stigma and the role of the
self in responses to stigma stimulated an explosion of research. PsychInfo reveals
a dramatic increase in the number of articles that mention stigma published in the
period from 19651989 (N = 603) as compared to 19902004 (N = 2321).
Reflecting the vibrancy of this growing field, review chapters on stigma and re-
lated processes appeared recently in the Handbook of Social Psychology (Crocker
et al. 1998), Advances in Experimental Social Psychology (Major et al. 2002b,
Steele et al. 2002), European Review of Social Psychology (Major et al. 2003b,
Schmitt & Branscombe 2002, Stangor et al. 2003b), and the Annual Review of
Sociology (Link & Phelan 2001). This chapter is the first on stigma to appear in
the Annual Review of Psychology. Because of space restrictions, we were unable
to review several important areas of research, such as the functions of stigma, the
impact of stigma on social interaction, and the ways in which different character-
istics of stigma (e.g., controllability, concealability, and entitativity) differentially
influence psychological and behavioral reactions to those stigmas (see Crocker
et al. 1998). We focus here on what stigma is, and how it affects the thoughts,
feelings, behavior, and health of its targets.
CONCEPTUALIZING STIGMA
According to Goffman (1963, p. 3), stigma is an attribute that extensively discred-
its an individual, reducing him or her from a whole and usual person to a tainted,
discounted one. Crocker et al. (1998) proposed that stigmatization occurs when
a person possesses (or is believed to possess) some attribute or characteristic that
THE SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY OF STIGMA 395
conveys a social identity that is devalued in a particular social context (p. 505).
These definitions share the assumption that people who are stigmatized have (or
are believed to have) an attribute that marks them as different and leads them to
be devalued in the eyes of others. Stigmatizing marks may be visible or invisible,
controllable or uncontrollable, and linked to appearance (e.g., a physical defor-
mity), behavior (e.g., child abuser), or group membership (e.g., African American).
Importantly, stigma is relationship- and context-specific; it does not reside in the
person but in a social context.
In stigmatization, marks become associated with discrediting disposi-
tionsnegative evaluations and stereotypes (Jones et al. 1984). These stereotypes
and evaluations are generally widely shared and well known among members of a
culture (Crocker et al. 1998, Steele 1997), and they become a basis for excluding
or avoiding members of the stereotyped category (Leary & Schreindorfer 1998,

Major & Eccleston 2004). Although both powerful and powerless groups may
stereotype and negatively evaluate the other, because the former control access
to resources, their beliefs are likely to prevail (Fiske 1993, Link & Phelan 2001).
Furthermore, members of high-status and low-status groups enter situations with
different understandings of the position of their group in the larger society. Thus,
members of high-status and low-status groups are likely to respond in dramatically
different ways to being the target of negative stereotypes and/or discrimination,
even though the immediate situation seems the same (Branscombe 1998, Inzlicht &
Ben-Zeev 2000, Schmitt & Branscombe 2002, Schmitt et al. 2002, Sekaquaptewa
& Thompson 2002). Without reference to power, the stigma concept becomes
overly broad. In short, stigma exists when labeling, negative stereotyping, exclu-
sion, discrimination, and low status co-occur in a power situation that allows these
processes to unfold (Link & Phelan 2001). Although each of these terms is often
used interchangeably with stigma, stigma is a broader and more inclusive concept
than any one of these processes.
Most stigma scholars regard stigma as a social constructiona label attached
by societyand point to variability across time and cultures in what attributes,
behaviors, or groups are stigmatized (Crocker et al. 1998, Jones et al. 1984).
Evolutionary scholars, however, point to commonality across cultures in what
attributes are stigmatized. They propose that in order to avoid the potential pitfalls
that accompany group living, humans have developed cognitive adaptations that
cause them to exclude (stigmatize) people who possess (or are believed to possess)
certain attributes. These are attributes that signal that (a) they are a poor partner
for social exchange (e.g., a convict), (b) they might carry parasitic infection (e.g., a
physical deformity), or (c) they are a member of an outgroup that can be exploited
for ingroup gain (Kurzban & Leary 2001; see also Neuberg et al. 2000, Park
et al. 2003). These three categories for exclusion map closely onto the categories
of stigmatizing attributes proposed by Goffman (1963): blemishes of individual
character, abominations of the body, and tribal stigma. Even if there are evolved
mechanisms that precipitate exclusion of certain social categories across cultures,
however, cultural beliefs can dictate which attributes within those categories are
396 MAJOR OBRIEN
stigmatized and the specific content of the stereotypes that are attached to those
attributes (Park et al. 2003). Nonetheless, stigmatized groups tend to be negatively
stereotyped on the dimensions of competence and/or warmth in most cultures
(Fiske 1998). Stereotyping people along these two dimensions may be functional;
in order to survive, people need to know who is friend or foe (warmth) and who
has higher status (competence).
MECHANISMS OF STIGMATIZATION
In the following section, we describe four mechanisms by which stigma affects
the stigmatized: (a) negative treatment and direct discrimination, (b) expectancy
confirmation processes, (c) automatic stereotype activation, and (d) identity threat
processes.
Negative Treatment and Discrimination

By limiting access to important life domains, discrimination directly affects the
social status, psychological well-being, and physical health of the stigmatized.
Members of stigmatized groups are discriminated against in the housing mar-
ket, workplace, educational settings, health care, and the criminal justice system
(Crandall & Eshleman 2003; for an overview see Sidanius & Pratto 1999). They
are even discriminated against in the family. The parents of heavyweight women,
for example, are less likely to pay for their daughters college education than are
the parents of average-weight women (Crandall 1995). Older adults are patronized
by younger adults and discriminated against in the workplace (Nelson 2002). The
low social status that results from discrimination may, in turn, engender further
discrimination (Link & Phelan 2001). Accumulated institutional practices may
also work to the disadvantage of the stigmatized even in the absence of individual
prejudice or discrimination. For example, the practice of funding school districts
through property taxes perpetuates educational disparities between whites and
stigmatized ethnic minority groups in the United States (Sidanius & Pratto 1999).
Expectancy Confirmation Processes

Stigma also affects the stigmatized via expectancy confirmation processes, or self-
fulfilling prophecies (Jussim et al. 2000). Perceivers negative stereotypes and
expectations can lead them to behave toward stigmatized targets in ways that
directly affect the targets thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. The targets behavior
may then confirm the initial, erroneous, expectation (Darley & Fazio 1980, Deaux
& Major 1987, Jussim et al. 2000) and even lead to expectancy-consistent changes
in the targets self-perceptions (Fazio et al. 1981). The target need not be aware
of others expectations, stereotypes, or prejudicial attitudes for this process to
unfold (e.g., Snyder et al. 1977, Vorauer & Kumhyr 2001). Studies examining
expectancy effects among actual stigmatized groups are rare. The few that have
done so suggest that expectancy confirmation processes may be exacerbated when

the targets actually are members of stigmatized groups (Harris et al. 1992, Jussim
et al. 1996, McKown & Weinstein 2002).
Automatic Stereotype Activation-Behavior

Stigma may also affect the stigmatized via the automatic activation of negative in-
group stereotypes. Dominant cultural stereotypes of groups in society are widely
known (Steele 1997) and can affect behavior in the absence of discriminatory
behavior on the part of others, and even when no other person is present in the im-
mediate situation. Knowledge of cultural stereotypes may affect behavior through
ideomotor processes (see Wheeler & Petty 2001 for a review). Because of as-
sociative linkages in memory between stereotypes and the behaviors they imply,
activation of stereotypes can automatically lead to behavior that assimilates to the
stereotype (Bargh et al. 1996, Dijksterhuis et al. 2000). For this process to occur,
the person must be aware of the contents of the stereotype, the stereotype must
be activated in a situation, and the stereotype must be applicable to the behav-
ioral domain. Activating cultural stereotypes of stigmatized groups can produce
stereotype-consistent behavior even among people who are not members of the
group, as long as they are aware of the stereotype. For example, white Americans
for whom the African American stereotype was activated performed more poorly
on an intellectual task than did white Americans for whom this stereotype was not
activated (Wheeler et al. 2001).
Activating stereotypes of the stigmatized, however, is more likely to result in
stereotype-consistent behavior among the stigmatized than the nonstigmatized for
several reasons. First, self-relevant stereotypes are more likely to be chronically
accessible than non-self-relevant stereotypes, resulting in a lowered threshold of
activation for the former (Shih et al. 2002). Subliminally presented primes, for
example, lead to stereotype-consistent behavior in the target group but not in
nontarget groups (Levy 1996, Shih et al. 2002). Second, the same situation may
prime negative stereotypes for the stigmatized, but not for the nonstigmatized.
The mere act of indicating their race before taking a standardized test, for exam-
ple, decreased test performance among African Americans but not among white
Americans (Steele & Aronson 1995, Study 4). Finally, although the explanation is
unclear, situations that activate negative stereotypes and harm performance among
stigmatized group members sometimes elevate performance among members of
nonstigmatized groups (Walton & Cohen 2003).
Stigma as Identity Threat

Contemporary perspectives on stigma emphasize the extent to which stigmas ef-
fects are mediated through targets understanding of how others view them, their
interpretations of social contexts, and their motives and goals. These theories are
top down in their emphasis on how peoples construals of their environment and
self-relevant motives (e.g., self-esteem protection) shape their emotions, beliefs,
398 MAJOR OBRIEN
and behavior. They are also bottom up in their assumption that construals emerge
from experiences (direct or vicarious) with being a target of negative stereotypes
and discrimination. These perspectives assume that stigma puts a person at risk of
experiencing threats to his or her social identity. Crocker & Major (1989, Crocker
et al. 1998), for example, hypothesized that stigmatization threatens self-esteem
(personal and collective), and can lead to attributional ambiguity, i.e., uncertainty
as to whether outcomes are due to ones personal identity or social identity. Steele
(1997, Steele & Aronson 1995) theorized that negative self-relevant group stereo-
types can lead to stereotype threat, a situationally based fear that one will be judged
on the basis of or confirm those stereotypes. Steele et al. (2002) hypothesized
that cultural knowledge or situational cues that indicate ones group is devalued,
marginalized, and of low status lead to social identity threat, i.e., a threat to the
aspect of self that is derived from membership in a devalued social group or cate-
gory (Tajfel & Turner 1986). Identity threat theories dominate current research on
stigma. In the following sections, we review research generated by these theories
(for related reviews, see Crocker et al. 1998; Major et al. 2002b, 2003b; Schmitt
& Branscombe 2002; Stangor et al. 2002; and Steele et al. 2002).
A MODEL OF STIGMA-INDUCED IDENTITY THREAT

Figure 1 presents a model that integrates identity threat models of stigma (e.g.,
Crocker et al. 1998, Major et al. 2002b, Steele et al. 2002) with transactional
models of stress and coping (e.g., Lazarus & Folkman 1984, Smith 1991). This
model assumes that possessing a consensually devalued social identity (a stigma)
increases ones exposure to potentially stressful (identity-threatening) situations.
Collective representations (box A), immediate situational cues (box B), and per-
sonal characteristics (box C) affect peoples appraisals of the significance of those
situations for their well-being. Identity threat (box D) results when an individual
Figure 1 An identity-threat model of stigma.

appraises the demands imposed by a stigma-relevant stressor as potentially harm-

ful to his or her social identity, and as exceeding his or her resources to cope with
those demands. Responses to identity threat can be involuntary (e.g., anxiety, in-
creased vigilance, and working memory load) (box E) or voluntary (e.g., coping
efforts; box F). Involuntary stress responses are emotional, cognitive, physiolog-
ical, and behavioral responses that do not serve to regulate or modify stressful
experiences. Voluntary responses, or coping, refer to conscious, volitional efforts
to regulate emotion, cognition, behavior, physiology, and the environment in re-
sponse to events or circumstances appraised as stressful (Compas et al. 1999).
Both involuntary and voluntary responses can be distinguished from the outcomes
of those responses, such as self-esteem, academic achievement, and health (box
G). Although not drawn, this model is recursive, in that involuntary and voluntary
responses to identity threat may furnish feedback that affects objective circum-
stances as well as subjective construals and appraisals of those circumstances.
These may attenuate or exacerbate the effects of stigma. In the following section,
we use this framework to organize and review recent literature on stigma.
Collective Representations
Based on their prior experiences as well as their exposure to the dominant culture,
members of stigmatized groups develop shared understandings of the dominant
view of their stigmatized status in society (Crocker 1999, Crocker et al. 1998,
Steele 1997). These collective representations include awareness that they are de-
valued in the eyes of others, knowledge of the dominant cultural stereotypes of
their stigmatized identity, and recognition that they could be victims of discrimina-
tion (Crocker et al. 1998). Virtually all members of a culture, including members
of stigmatized groups, are aware of cultural stereotypes, even if they do not per-
sonally endorse them (Steele 1997). By 10 years of age, most children are aware of
cultural stereotypes of different groups in society, and children who are members
of stigmatized groups are aware of cultural stereotypes at an even younger age
(McKown & Weinstein 2003). Members of a culture also are aware of the domi-
nant ideologies, or shared explanations, for why different groups occupy the status
positions that they do (Jost & Banaji 1994, Sidanius & Pratto 1999). Collective rep-
resentations influence how the stigmatized perceive and appraise stigma-relevant
situations. Collective representations can affect the behavior of the stigmatized in
the absence of obvious forms of discriminatory behavior on the part of others, and
even when no other person is present in the immediate situation.
Situational Cues
Situations differ in their social identity threat potential, i.e., in the extent to which
they signal that one is at risk of being devalued, negatively stereotyped, or dis-
criminated against because of ones social identity (Steele et al. 2002). For ability-
stigmatized groups, threatening situations include taking an ability diagnostic
test (e.g., Spencer et al. 1999, Steele & Aronson 1995), being outnumbered by
400 MAJOR OBRIEN
members of nonstigmatized groups (Ben-Zeev et al. 2004, Inzlicht & Good 2004,
Sekaquaptewa & Thompson 2003), being taught by an instructor who is a member
of a dominant outgroup (Marx & Roman 2002), being exposed to media images
that reinforce negative stereotypes of ones group (Davies et al. 2002), being asked
to reveal a concealable stigma (Quinn et al. 2004), or overhearing that an evaluator
is sexist (Major et al. 2003c).
Because the collective representations that individuals bring to a situation shape
its meaning, the same situation may be perceived and appraised differently by dif-
ferent individuals. For example, situational cues that increased the relevance of
negative group stereotypes lead to stereotype threat effects (e.g., impaired perfor-
mance) among children old enough to be aware of negative stereotypes about their
group, but not among stigmatized children as yet unaware of group stereotypes
(McKown & Weinstein 2003), and to impaired performance on a math test among
women who believe that gender stereotypes about math ability are true, but not
among women who reject these stereotypes (Schmader et al. 2004). Nonstigma-
tized and stigmatized groups in particular react very differently to the same local
situation, in part because they differ in the collective representations they bring to
the situation.
It is important to note that perceptions of situations do not always correspond
to objective events (see Crosby 1982, Feldman-Barrett & Swim 1998, Stangor
et al. 2003a). Some individuals who are targets of objective discrimination, for
example, fail to realize it, whereas other individuals believe they are victims of
discrimination even when they are not (Major et al. 2002b, Stangor et al. 2003b).
A variety of personal, situational, and structural factors determine whether people
perceive themselves as targets of prejudice. For example, individuals are more
likely to perceive discrimination (a) against their group as a whole than against
themselves personally (Crosby 1982, Taylor et al. 1994), (b) when information
is presented aggregated across members of a group than on a case-by-case basis
(Crosby et al. 1989), and (c) when prejudice cues are clear rather than ambiguous
(Major et al. 2003c).
Personal Characteristics
Individual characteristics also influence how situations are perceived and ap-
praised. Following, we describe several personal characteristics that have been
the focus of research.
STIGMA SENSITIVITY Individuals differ in their chronic sensitivity to being stig-

matized. People who expect to be treated on the basis of their group membership
rather than their personal identity (Pinel 1999) and/or who are sensitive to rejec-
tion based on their group membership (Mendoza-Denton et al. 2002) are more
vigilant for stigma-related threats, and are more likely to appraise stigma-relevant
situations as threatening. For example, the higher people score on a measure of
stigma-consciousness, the more likely they are to perceive themselves as targets
of discrimination at both a personal and group level (Pinel 1999), the more they
expect to be treated negatively by outgroup members (Pinel 2002), and the more
attention they allocate to subliminally presented words that threaten their social
identity (CR Kaiser, SB Vick, B Major, submitted, Study 2). African American
students who scored high on a measure of race-rejection sensitivity prior to col-
lege were more likely than those who scored low on this measure to perceive
negative race-related experiences and discrimination over the course of their first
three weeks in college, felt more negatively toward their roommates and pro-
fessors, and were less likely to feel accepted at college (Mendoza-Denton et al.
2002).
GROUP IDENTIFICATION Individuals who regard their stigmatized social identity

as a central part of their self-identity are more likely to see themselves as targets of
personal and group discrimination (e.g., Branscombe et al. 1999, Sellers & Shelton
2003), especially when prejudice cues are attributionally ambiguous (Major et al.
2003c, Operario & Fiske 2001). They are also more likely to appraise stigma-
relevant events as self-relevant. Consequently, they report increased threat and
lower self-esteem in response to perceived prejudice against the ingroup (McCoy &
Major 2003) and perform more poorly in situations where the ingroup is negatively
stereotyped (Schmader 2002).
DOMAIN IDENTIFICATION Individuals who strongly identify with domains in

which their group is negatively stereotyped are more likely to regard performance
feedback in those domains as self-relevant, increasing their potential for expe-
riencing identity threat (Aronson et al. 1999, Steele et al. 2002). For example,
African American students who regarded their performance on intellectual tests as
central to their self-regard reported lower self-esteem following poor performance
feedback compared to those who were less domain identified (Major et al. 1998).
GOALS AND MOTIVES Individuals goals and motives also shape how they per-
ceive and appraise situations. Two motives have been emphasized in the stigma
literature. One is the motive to protect or enhance self-esteem. People are more
likely to perceive an evaluator as sexist or racist if they receive negative than posi-
tive feedback from him or her (e.g., Crocker et al. 1991). People are also motivated
to believe the system is just and that they are fairly treated (Jost & Major 2001,
Jost et al. 2003, Major 1994). In the service of maintaining these beliefs, members
of stigmatized groups may fail to see themselves as victims of prejudice even in
the presence of prejudice cues. The more strongly members of stigmatized ethnic
groups (Latino/a Americans, African Americans) believe in a just world and that
any individual can get ahead regardless of group membership, the less likely they
are to report that they personally, or members of their group, are targets of ethnic
discrimination, the less likely they are to blame discrimination when a member
of a higher status group (e.g., a European American) rejects them for a desirable
role (Major et al. 2002a, Study 2), and the more threat and lower self-esteem they
402 MAJOR OBRIEN
report when they are confronted with prejudice against themselves or their group
(B Major, CR Kaiser, SK McCoy, submitted).
Identity Threat Appraisals

The centerpiece assumption of transactional stress and coping models is that events
are appraised for their significance for well-being, and that the outcome of this ap-
praisal process directs affective, cognitive, behavioral, and physiological responses
to that event (Smith 1991). Appraisals include primary appraisals of the demands
posed by a stressor (e.g., the extent to which it is perceived as self-relevant, dan-
gerous, effortful, and creates uncertainty) and secondary appraisals of resources
to cope with those demands (Lazarus & Folkman 1984). Threat results when the
perceived demands of a self-relevant situation are appraised as exceeding ones

perceived resources to meet those demands. Challenge results when perceived cop-
ing resources are appraised as exceeding demands (Blascovich & Tomaka 1996).
Stigma-induced identity threat results when an individual appraises the demands
imposed by a stigma-relevant stressor as potentially harmful to his or her social
identity, and as exceeding his or her resources to cope with those demands. This ap-
praisal results from an interaction between perceived cues (affective or semantic)
in the immediate situation that make stigma relevant to that situation, the col-
lective representations that the individual brings to that situation, and individual
characteristics.
The appraisal process can be automatic, nonverbal, instantaneous, and occur
outside of consciousness (Smith 1991). Although originally theorized to result
from cognitive processing, appraisals also can result from affective (i.e., feeling)
processing instigated by well-learned affective cues (e.g., a Ku Klux Klan emblem;
Blascovich & Mendes 2000). Further, affective processing can occur independently
of cognitive processing and, like cognitive processing, may occur below awareness
(e.g., LeDoux 1996, Zajonc 2000). Stimuli presented below levels of awareness
can elicit emotional reactions strong enough to drive judgment and behavior in the
absence of any conscious feelings accompanying these reactions (Winkielman &
Berridge 2004).
Although we focus on how stigma may lead to appraisals of identity threat,
stigma may also lead to identity challenge (e.g., OBrien & Crandall 2003). For
example, a woman could perceive herself as a potential target of sexism, yet not
appraise this as a threat if she feels she has more than sufficient coping resources
to meet the demand (Kaiser et al. 2004a). Such resources might include perceived
control over important resources, the ability to limit exposure to others who are
prejudiced, strong group identity, or dispositional optimism.
Involuntary Responses to Identity Threat

Involuntary responses to identity threat include anxiety (Spencer et al. 1999),
arousal (Ben-Zeev et al. 2004), and increased blood pressure (Blascovich et al.
2001). Identity threat has been linked to indirect measures of anxiety in the absence
of self-reported anxiety (Blascovich et al. 2001, Bosson et al. 2004). For example,
gay men who interacted with preschool children under conditions conducive to
creating stereotype threat demonstrated increased nonverbal anxiety compared to
unthreatened gay men, but the former did not report feeling more anxious on self-
report measures. Nonverbal anxiety, but not self-reported anxiety, mediated the
effects of threat condition on participants child-care performance (Bosson et al.
2004). These latter findings strongly suggest that affective responses to identity
threat may not be conscious and amenable to self-report measures. Like other types
of stress, identity threat can also consume valuable cognitive resources (Klein &
Boals 2001). Schmader & Johns (2003) found that manipulations of stereotype
threat (e.g., describing a test as measuring quantitative or intellectual capacity) led
to lower working memory capacity among individuals targeted by the stereotype

(women and Latinos) while having no effect on individuals not targeted by the
stereotype (men and whites). Furthermore, reductions in working memory capacity
mediated the effects of the stereotype threat manipulation on performance.
Identity threat may also engender automatic vigilance to threat-related stimuli.
Automatic stimulus evaluation directs attention toward events that may have unde-
sirable consequences for the perceiver (Pratto & John 1991). Previous experience
with prejudice and discrimination can set the stage for members of stigmatized
groups to use a zero miss signal detection strategy wherein injustice cues in the
environment trigger vigilance for discrimination (Feldman-Barrett & Swim 1998).
Women led to anticipate interacting with a sexist (versus a nonsexist) man allocated
more attention to subliminally presented words that threatened their social identity,
as did women who scored high (versus low) in stigma consciousness (CR Kaiser,
SB Vick, & B Major, submitted). Automatic vigilance, however, is not an inevitable
by-product of stigmatization. Some members of stigmatized groups screen out
identity threatrelevant information at a nonconscious attentional level (CR Kaiser,
SB Vick, & B Major, submitted; Miller & Kaiser 2001; Stangor et al. 2003a).
Ironically, people who chronically expect and are vigilant for signs of discrim-
ination may create the rejection they fear by communicating these expectancies to
others. For example, when women high in stigma consciousness interacted with a
male partner who they had been led to believe was sexist, they rated him especially
critically; their ratings elicited negative evaluations from the male partner, in turn
confirming the womens belief that they would not like him (Pinel 2002). African
American students who were high in sensitivity to race-based rejection prior to
entering college had less-diverse friendships and felt less trust in their university
at the end of their first year in college. They also reported decreased attendance at
academic review sessions, increased anxiety about approaching instructors with
academic problems, and decreased GPAs by the time they were college juniors
(Mendoza-Denton et al. 2004).
Coping in Response to Threats to the Self

People cope with stigma-induced identity threat in a variety of ways (see, e.g.,
Allport 1954, Miller & Kaiser 2001, Miller & Major 2000, Swim & Thomas
404 MAJOR OBRIEN
2004). Some coping efforts are primarily problem focused (e.g., when an over-
weight person decides to go on a diet), whereas others are primarily emotion
focused (e.g., restricting ones comparisons to others who are also overweight),
although some strategies may serve both goals (e.g., avoiding wearing a bathing
suit). Coping strategies can also be characterized as engagement versus disengage-
ment strategies, with the former reflecting approach or fight motivation, and the
latter reflecting avoid or flight motivation (Miller 2004, Miller & Kaiser 2001). We
focus here on three coping strategies addressed in recent research: (a) attributing
negative events to discrimination (versus to the self), (b) disengaging self-esteem
and effort from identity-threatening domains (versus engaging and striving in these
domains), and (c) increasing identification with ones stigmatized group (versus
distancing oneself from the group).

BLAMING DISCRIMINATION VERSUS BLAMING THE SELF When members of stig-

matized groups encounter negative outcomes, one way they may cope with the
threat to their self-esteem is by blaming the outcome on discrimination rather
than on themselves (Crocker & Major 1989, Major et al. 2002b). Blaming specific
negative events on discrimination is conceptually and methodologically distinct
from self-reports of experiencing pervasive discrimination. The latter confound
attributional processes with frequency and severity of exposure to discrimination.
Attributions to discrimination buffer self-esteem primarily when an individual has
experienced a threat to an internal, stable aspect of the personal self (Major et al.
2002b). In such contexts, blaming the event on discrimination shifts blame from
stable, unique aspects of the personal self to a more external causethe prejudice
of othersthereby protecting self-esteem (e.g., Major et al. 2003a). However,
making an attribution to discrimination still implicates ones social identity. Thus,
making an attribution to discrimination is more harmful to self-esteem than is
making a purely external attribution (Schmitt & Branscombe 2002). Attributions
to discrimination also protect self-esteem more when prejudice is blatant rather
than hidden or disguised. Attributing a rejection to discrimination is positively
associated with self-esteem in the presence of blatant prejudice, but is negatively
related to self-esteem in the absence of prejudice cues (Major et al. 2003c).
Coping strategies simultaneously affect more than one outcome. Whereas mak-
ing an attribution to discrimination may sometimes protect personal self-esteem,
it may also interfere with accurate knowledge of ones strengths and weaknesses
(Aronson & Inzlicht 2004, Cohen et al. 1999). Furthermore, members of stigma-
tized groups who blame their failures on discrimination are socially derogated
(Kaiser & Miller 2001). Thus, it is not surprising that members of stigmatized
groups are more likely to blame negative outcomes on discrimination in private or
when they are with other members of their ingroup than when they are in public
settings with members of higher-status groups (Stangor et al. 2002). Furthermore,
under public reporting conditions, stigmatized targets of discrimination are less
likely to report discrimination than are similar others who view the same event
(Sechrist et al. 2004). Thus, even when attributing negative events to discrimination
may be warranted and beneficial to self-esteem, targets of discrimination may be

unwilling to engage in this coping strategy.
DISENGAGEMENT VERSUS STRIVING Another way in which the stigmatized may

cope with identity threat is by withdrawing their efforts and/or disengaging their
self-esteem from domains in which they are negatively stereotyped or fear being
a target of discrimination (Keller & Dauenheimer 2003, Major & Schmader 1998,
Major et al. 1998, Schmader et al. 2001, Steele 1997, Stone 2002). For example,
Davies et al. (2002) demonstrated that women taking a difficult test who were
exposed to negative gender stereotypes chose to answer fewer math questions and
instead focused on answering questions related to verbal ability. Over time, individ-
uals may disidentify with domains in which their group is negatively stereotyped
or unfairly treated so that their performance in that domain is no longer important

to their self-worth (Crocker & Major 1989, Steele 1997). For example, the more
African American college students believed that differences in status between eth-
nic groups in America were unjust, the less likely they were to say that academic
performance was an important part of their self-concepts (Schmader et al. 2001).
Members of lower-status groups also are more likely to devalue domains if they
are led to believe that status differences between their group and higher-status
groups are unfair (Schmader et al. 2001). Although devaluing and withdrawing
effort from domains in which one is negatively stereotyped and treated unjustly
may protect self-esteem, it may come at the cost of success in those domains.
An alternative way of coping with identity threat in socially valued domains is
to compensate, or strive even harder to overcome obstacles (Allport 1954, Miller &
Myers 1998). In a direct demonstration of enhanced striving, overweight women
who believed their stigma might have a negative impact on an interaction (i.e.,
who thought that their partner could see them) compensated by bolstering their
social skills compared to overweight women who thought they could not be seen
by their partners (Miller et al. 1995). A dispositional preference to work harder
to overcome obstacles, however, may be related to poor health, as in the positive
relationship observed between John Henryism and hypertension among African
Americans (James et al. 1983).
GROUP IDENTIFICATION VERSUS DISIDENTIFICATION Members of stigmatized

groups may cope with identity threat by approaching, or identifying more closely
with, their group (Allport 1954). Groups can provide emotional, informational, and
instrumental support, social validation for ones perceptions, social consensus for
ones attributions, and a sense of belonging. Group identification is positively cor-
related with self-esteem among stigmatized groups (e.g., Bat-Chava 1994, Rowley
et al. 1998). Branscombe et al. (1999) proposed that group identification increases
in response to perceived prejudice against the group and that this increase in group
identification partially offsets the negative effects of perceiving pervasive prejudice
on personal self-esteem. These predictions have been supported in correlational
research with African Americans (Branscombe et al. 1999), older adults (Garstka
406 MAJOR OBRIEN
et al. 2004), international students at an American university (Schmitt et al. 2003),

and women (Schmitt et al. 2002). Further, customers in a piercing salon who read
that prejudice existed against body piercers subsequently identified more strongly
with that group than did customers who read that prejudice against body piercers
was decreasing (Jetten et al. 2001). Although this evidence suggests that group
identification may be an effective coping strategy in response to perceptions of
prejudice against the group, it is important to define precisely what is meant by
group identification (Ashmore et al. 2004). For example, the more women perceive
pervasive discrimination against women, the more central they regard their gender
to be in their self-concept, but the less proud they are to be a woman (Eccleston &
Major 2004).
Whereas highly identified group members may respond to threats to the group
by increasing their identification with the group, members who are low in identi-
fication may cope by decreasing their identification even more (see Ellemers et al.
2002 for a review). After reading about pervasive discrimination toward their eth-
nic group, for example, Latino/a American students who had previously reported
low levels of ethnic group identification identified even less with their ethnic group,
whereas previously highly identified Latino/a American students identified even
more strongly (McCoy & Major 2003).
OUTCOMES OF STIGMATIZATION
Coping with stigma often involves trade-offs. Strategies used in the service of
achieving one goal (protecting self-esteem) may inhibit attainment of other goals
(academic achievement). Thus, it is important to look at multiple responses to
and effects of stigmatization within the same study. Rarely, however, have stigma
researchers done so. In the following section, we briefly focus on how stigma
affects three important outcomes: self-esteem, academic achievement, and health.
Self-Esteem
A number of empirical investigations of the relationship between stigma and self-
esteem have been conducted over the past 15 years (e.g., Branscombe et al. 1999,
Crocker et al. 1991, Quinn & Crocker 1999). Researchers typically measure per-
sonal (Twenge & Crocker 2002) and collective self-esteem (e.g., Crocker et al.
1994) with self-report measures. More recently, they have assessed personal and
collective self-esteem with the implicit association test (IAT) (e.g., Nosek et al.
2002) and other indirect measures (Jost et al. 2002).
Many classic perspectives on the effects of stigmatization assumed that the
stigmatized internalize the negative view of them held by society at large (e.g.,
Cartwright 1950, Clark & Clark 1947). According to this view, levels of self-esteem
in stigmatized groups should parallel the degree to which they are devalued by the
culturally dominant group (Twenge & Crocker 2002). Members of nonstigmatized
groups should have higher self-esteem than members of stigmatized groups, and
among stigmatized groups, those who are more valued (e.g., Asian Americans)
should have higher self-esteem than those who are less valued (e.g., blacks and
Latinos in the United States). A meta-analysis of racial differences in self-report
measures of personal self-esteem showed no support for this prediction. African
Americans had higher self-esteem than did white Americans, who had higher self-
esteem than did Latino Americans, who had higher self-esteem than did Asian
Americans and Native Americans (Twenge & Crocker 2002). In contrast, the self-
reported collective self-esteem of African, Latino, and Asian Americans is greater
than or equal to the collective self-esteem of white Americans (Crocker et al. 1994).
Research assessing self-esteem with indirect or implicit measures (e.g., racial
preferences), however, tells a different story. One study suggests that blacks have
the highest implicit personal self-esteem, followed by Latinos, whites, and Asians,
although the differences between the groups were slight (Nosek et al. 2002). Several
studies using indirect measures of collective self-esteem, however, show that whites
demonstrate ingroup favoritism, whereas Latino, Asian, and African Americans
demonstrate significant outgroup favoritism (favor whites) (Ashburn-Nardo et al.
2003, Jost et al. 2002, Nosek et al. 2002). The picture is no less complicated with
regard to nonracial stigmas.
For example, overweight women self-report lower personal self-esteem than
do average-weight women (Miller & Downey 1999) and show lower collective
self-esteem on implicit measures (Rudman et al. 2002). Younger adults and older
adults have equivalent levels of personal self-esteem on both implicit and explicit
measures; however, both groups favored younger adults on an implicit measure of
collective self-esteem (Hummert et al. 2002). Women self-report lower levels of
personal self-esteem than do men (Kling et al. 1999, Major et al. 1999), but score
equal to men on implicit measures of personal self-esteem (Aidman & Carroll
2002, Greenwald & Farnham 2000, Nosek et al. 2002).
In short, results are inconsistent. Some research supports an internalization per-
spective, but most does not. Part of the problem can be traced to measurement
issues associated with both explicit (Greenwald et al. 2002) and implicit measures
(Fazio & Olson 2003, Olson & Fazio 2003). Whereas self-report measures are
susceptible to social desirability, implicit measures can sometimes be tainted by
environmental or extrapersonal associationsculturally shared, but not necessar-
ily personally endorsed, representations of groups (Karpinski & Hilton 2001, Olson
& Fazio 2004). Measures such as the IAT may overestimate the extent of outgroup
favoritism by stigmatized groups (Olson & Fazio 2004). However, measurement
issues cannot tell the whole story, as the IAT has demonstrated predictive validity.
For example, blacks who demonstrated outgroup favoritism on the IAT were also
more likely to choose a white person over a black person for an interaction partner
(Ashburn-Nardo et al. 2003).
Rather than focusing on self-esteem differences between stigmatized and non-
stigmatized groups, identity threat perspectives draw attention to variability in
self-esteem within stigmatized groups, and even within the same individual across
408 MAJOR OBRIEN
contexts. Self-esteem varies as a function of collective representations, situational

cues, and personal characteristics (Crocker et al. 1991, 1993; Major et al. 2003b;
Quinn & Crocker 1999). For example, experimentally manipulating perceptions of
prejudice against their ethnic group led to higher threat appraisals and lower self-
esteem (compared to a no-prejudice manipulation) among Latinos who strongly
endorsed the ideology of meritocracy, but not among Latinos who rejected this ide-
ology (B Major, CR Kaiser, SK McCoy, submitted). Exposure to pervasive sexism
led to higher threat appraisals and lower self-esteem among pessimistic women
but not among optimistic women (Kaiser et al. 2004a). In both of these studies,
threat appraisals mediated the effect of situation (exposure to prejudice or not) and
personal characteristics on explicit self-esteem. Research is needed to understand
how collective representations, situational cues, and personal characteristics affect

implicit measures of self-esteem among stigmatized groups.
Academic Achievement
Members of stigmatized and nonstigmatized groups differ substantially in mea-
sures of academic achievement. Data compiled by the National Center for Ed-
ucation Statistics, for example, indicate that in 2001, black (10.9%) and Latino
students (27%) were more likely than were white students (7.3%) in the United
States to drop out of high school. Blacks (18%) and Latinos (11%) were also less
likely than whites (33%) to earn bachelors degrees. Moreover, compared to whites,
black, Latino, and Native American students had lower standardized test scores
across all subjects and grade levels tested (National Center for Education Statistics
2004).
Differences in performance among ethnic groups or between women and men
often are attributed to various forms of discrimination (see Steele 1997). In coun-
tries around the world, children who are members of ethnically stigmatized groups
receive a smaller proportion of public education funds than do children who are
not members of stigmatized groups (for a review, see Sidanius & Pratto 1999).
Parents have lower math expectations for girls than boys (Eccles et al. 1990), and
are less likely to pay for their daughters college education if they are fat than if
they are average weight (Crandall 1995).
Although discrimination clearly contributes to achievement differences be-
tween stigmatized and nonstigmatized groups, this is not the full story (see Steele
et al. 2002 for a review). Situational cues increase the extent to which academic per-
formance situations are appraised as threatening to social identity, and involuntary
and voluntary responses to this identity threat may depress academic performance.
For example, situational cues signaling that a negative stereotype is relevant as a
possible interpretation for ones behavior (e.g., describing a test as diagnostic of
ability, or as showing gender differences) impair the test performance of African
Americans (Steele & Aronson 1995) and women (Spencer et al. 1999), respectively.
Being outnumbered in a stereotyped environment also can harm performance of
stigmatized groups (Inzlicht & Ben Zeev 2000). People who would be expected
to appraise stereotype-relevant situations as threats to their social identity, such

as people who identify highly with the relevant domain (Aronson et al. 1999) or
stereotyped group (Schmader 2002), who are highly conscious of being stereo-
typed based on their stigma (Brown & Pinel 2002), and who have high testosterone
levels (Josephs et al. 2003) are more likely to show performance decrements in
stereotype-relevant situations.
Stigma-induced identity threat resulting from activation of negative group stereo-
types or fear of being a victim of prejudice can harm performance through in-
voluntary stress responses such as anxiety and decrements in working memory
capacity (Blascovich et al. 2001, Bosson et al. 2004, Schmader & Johns 2003).
Emotion-focused coping efforts such as self-handicapping and withdrawing effort
from negatively stereotyped domains can also impair performance (Davies et al.
2002, Keller 2002, McKown & Weinstein 2003). Other coping strategies, such as
thinking of intelligence as malleable, or attributing ones groups past poor perfor-
mances to situational factors, in contrast, can reduce the negative impact of social
identity threat on performance (Good et al. 2003).
Stigma-induced identity threat also can lead stigmatized groups to chronically
disengage their self-esteem from intellectual tasks (Crocker et al. 1998; Steele
1992, 1997). Consistent with this notion, the correlation between self-esteem
and academic achievement weakens in African American adolescents over time
(Osborne 1995). Furthermore, whereas the self-esteem of European American stu-
dents is affected by performance feedback on tests of intellectual ability, African
American students self-esteem is not, suggesting that the latter may psychologi-
cally disengage their self-esteem from test feedback (Major et al. 1998). African
Americans are particularly likely to disengage their self-esteem from performance
feedback when their race is made salient (Major et al. 1998). Over time, disidentifi-
cation from a domain may undermine African American students school achieve-
ment (Steele 1992, 1997). Cognitive strategies such as shaping peoples theories
about intelligence may be a partial remedy to the problem of disidentification in
stigmatized groups (Aronson et al. 2002).
Health
Compared to the nonstigmatized, members of stigmatized groups are at a greater
risk for mental and physical health problems, such as depression, hypertension,
coronary heart disease, and stroke (American Heart Association 2003, Jackson
et al. 1996, Krieger 1990, McEwen 2000). African Americans, for example, have
shorter life expectancies, higher infant mortality, and more heart disease than do
European Americans (Allison 1998, Flack et al. 1995). Discrimination directly
affects the health of the stigmatized by exposing them to physical and social
environments that are more toxic and by limiting their access to quality medical
care and nutrition (Clark et al. 1999, Harrell 2000, Link & Phelan 2001).
Stigma can also affect health indirectly via identity threat mechanisms. Threats
to identity can initiate a cascade of negative cognitions and emotions as well as
410 MAJOR OBRIEN
physiological threat responses, including elevated cortisol, increased blood pres-

sure, and other cardiovascular responses (Blascovich et al. 2000, Chen & Matthews
2003, Dickerson & Kemeny 2004). Although these physiological responses can
be adaptive in the short run, they have adverse health implications if repeatedly
experienced over time (McEwen 2000).
Subjective perceptions of stigmatization may be as important as objective expo-
sure to discrimination in predicting adverse health-relevant outcomes among the
stigmatized (Allison 1998, Finch et al. 2000, Harrell 2000). Subjective social sta-
tus is positively related to health-related outcomes, even controlling for objective
indicators of social status (Adler et al. 2000, Ostrove et al. 2000). Self-reported
experiences of discrimination are positively correlated with psychological distress,
and with self-reported physical health problems, such as hypertension, number of

sick days, and chronic pain (e.g., Contrada et al. 2001, Diaz et al. 2001, Finch et al.
2000, Klonoff et al. 2000, Krieger 1990, Lewis et al. 2003, Swim et al. 2001, Taylor
& Turner 2002, Williams et al. 1997). Self-reported experiences of discrimination
also correlate positively with resting blood pressure levels among ethnic minority
men (Krieger & Sidney 1996).
Although these findings are consistent with the hypothesis that subjective ex-
periences of discrimination harm mental and physical health, they are limited in
several ways. First, most studies do not distinguish between objective exposure to
negative events (e.g., being denied a loan) and subjective perceptions of discrim-
ination (because one is black). Studies that attempted to disentangle these effects
have produced mixed results (Kessler et al. 1999, Magley et al. 1999, Taylor &
Turner 2002, Williams 1997). Second, because these studies are correlational, it is
possible that negative emotion predicts perceptions of discrimination rather than
the reverse (e.g., Sechrist et al. 2003). Third, none controlled for dispositional
variables that might affect correlations between self-reported experiences with
discrimination and self-reported psychological distress or health problems, such
as individual differences in attributional style or rejection sensitivity. Thus, further
research is needed to assess the effects of perceived discrimination on mental and
physical health.
Results of the few experiments that have assessed biological stress responses to
acute discrimination-related stressors under controlled laboratory conditions are
mixed. Some suggest that African Americans exposed to a discrimination stressor
in the laboratory have significantly higher cardiovascular reactivity than do those
exposed to a nondiscrimination stressor (e.g., Armstead et al. 1989, McNeilly et al.
1995), whereas others suggest that encounters with discrimination-related stressors
do not produce greater blood pressure reactivity than do encounters with nondis-
crimination stressors (e.g., Fang & Myers 2001). Collective representations and
personal characteristics may interact with the immediate situation to affect threat
appraisals and cardiovascular responses. African American women who reported
being a target of interpersonal mistreatment in the past because of discrimina-
tion had higher baseline heart rate levels, and showed greater cardiac reactivity
while giving a speech about a potentially discriminatory incident (but not while
engaging in a nonsocial stress task) compared to African American women who

either reported not being a target of mistreatment or who reported being a target
of mistreatment but did not attribute it to discrimination (Guyll et al. 2001).
Psychological factors that increase susceptibility to stigma-related identity
threat may negatively affect health-related outcomes. Individuals who are chroni-
cally vigilant for stigma-related identity threats may appraise potentially stigma-
relevant situations as threatening, leading to heightened physiological threat re-
sponses. HIV-positive gay men who were high in sensitivity to rejection based
on their homosexuality showed more rapid advancement of HIV infection over a
nine-year period than did those less sensitive to rejection based on their homosex-
uality (Cole et al. 1997). Furthermore, HIV progressed most rapidly among high
rejection-sensitive men who were out (versus concealed), and thus who were
more exposed to the risk of social rejection.

Psychological factors associated with perceived resources, in contrast, may
have beneficial effects on health by decreasing identity threat. As noted above, op-
timistic women are less threatened by and have less negative emotional reactions to
prejudice than do pessimistic women (Kaiser et al. 2004a). Optimism (as opposed
to pessimism) is positively related to mental and physical health in response to
a variety of severe stressors (Chen & Matthews 2003, Scheier et al. 2001). The
coping strategies used to deal with identity threat may also have implications for
health.
CONCLUSIONS
This chapter sought to integrate theory and research on the phenomenology and
effects of social stigmaof being labeled, negatively stereotyped, excluded, dis-
criminated against, and low in social status and power. Traditionally, members
of stigmatized groups have been portrayed as passive victims of others negative
stereotypes, prejudicial attitudes, and discriminatory behaviors. Research reviewed
here demonstrates that stigma does have direct and insidious negative effects on
the stigmatized via mechanisms of discrimination, expectancy confirmation, and
automatic stereotype activation. Theory and research that takes the perspective
of the stigmatized, however, illustrates that individual construals also play a key
mediating role in responses to stigma.
We organized recent theory and research within an identity threat model of
stigma. This model posits that responses to stigma-relevant situations and circum-
stances are a function of cues in the immediate situation, collective representations
of ones stigma status, and individual characteristics. These combine to affect ap-
praisals of the significance of the situation for well-being. Identity threat results
when an individual appraises the demands imposed by a stigma-relevant stressor
as potentially harmful to his or her social identity, and as exceeding his or her
resources to cope with those demands. Identity threat leads to involuntary stress
responses such as anxiety, vigilance to threat, and decreased working memory
412 MAJOR OBRIEN
capacity, and motivates attempts at threat reduction through coping strategies such
as blaming negative events on discrimination, identifying more closely with the
threatened group, and disengaging self-esteem from threatening domains. These
involuntary stress responses and voluntary coping efforts have implications for
important outcomes such as self-esteem, academic achievement, and health.
The identity threat perspective integrates research on the link between perceived
discrimination and self-esteem with research on the link between stereotype threat
and test performance. It also identifies holes in the literature and suggests sev-
eral avenues for future research. First, little is known about the conditions that
elicit vigilance for stigma-relevant threats in the environment as opposed to active
suppression of such knowledge. Second, the significance and meaning of out-
group favoritism among stigmatized groups on implicit measures is unclear. Does

this indicate lower implicit collective self-esteem among stigmatized groups or

knowledge of cultural valuation of different groups? Third, researchers need to
identify the conditions that lead the stigmatized to appraise stigma-relevant stres-
sors as identity challenges rather than as identity threats and that lead to increased
striving rather than withdrawal. Fourth, the mechanisms through which stigma-
induced identity threat affects health need to be identified. Finally, evidence of
trade-offs among different coping mechanisms points to a need for researchers to
include multiple dependent variables (e.g., academic performance, self-esteem) in
the same study.
We close by noting that one of the major insights of a social psychological
perspective on stigma is the tremendous variability across people, groups, and sit-
uations in responses to stigma. The emerging understanding of factors that make
people resilient, as well as vulnerable, to stigma and identification of effective cop-
ing strategies for dealing with identity-threatening situations holds some promise
for improving the predicament of the stigmatized.
The Annual Review of Psychology is online at http://psych.annualreviews.org
LITERATURE CITED
Adler NE, Epel ES, Castellazzo G, Ickovics gets Perspective, ed. JK Swim, C Stangor,
JR. 2000. Relationship of subjective and ob- pp. 14570. San Diego, CA: Academic
jective social status with psychological and Allport GW. 1954. The Nature of Prejudice.
physiological functioning: preliminary data Boston, MA: Addison-Wesley
in healthy, white women. Health Psychol. American Heart Association. 2003. Stroke risk
19:58692 factors. Accessed Dec. 11, 2003. http://www.
Aidman EV, Carroll SM. 2002. Implicit in- americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml? identifier
dividual differences: relationships between =237
implicit self-esteem, gender identity, and Armstead CA, Lawler KA, Gorden G, Cross
gender attitudes. Eur. J. Personal. 17:19 L, Gibbons M. 1989. Relationship of racial
36 stressors to blood pressure responses and
Allison KW. 1998. Stress and oppressed cat- anger expression in black college students.
egory membership. In Prejudice: The Tar- Special issue: race, reactivity, and blood
pressure regulation. Health Psychol. 8:541 Blascovich J, Spencer SJ, Quinn D, Steele C.
56 2001. African Americans and high blood
Aronson J, Fried CB, Good C. 2002. Reducing pressure: the role of stereotype threat. Psy-
the effects of stereotype threat on African chol. Sci. 12:22529
American college students by shaping the- Blascovich J, Tomaka J. 1996. The biopsy-
ories of intelligence. J. Exp. Soc. Psychol. chosocial model of arousal regulation. In Ad-
38:11325 vances in Experimental Social Psychology,
Aronson J, Inzlicht M. 2004. The ups and downs ed. MP Zanna, vol. 28, pp. 151. San Diego,
of attributional ambiguity: stereotype vulner- CA: Academic
ability and self-knowledge. Psychol. Sci. In Bosson JK, Haymovitz EL, Pinel EC. 2004.
press When saying and doing diverge: the effects of
Aronson J, Lustina MJ, Good C, Keough K, stereotype threat on self-reported versus non-
Steele CM, Brown J. 1999. When white men verbal anxiety. J. Exp. Soc. Psychol. 40:247
cant do math: necessary and sufficient fac- 55

tors in stereotype threat. J. Exp. Soc. Psychol. Braddock JH, McPartland JM. 1987. How mi-
35:2946 norities continue to be excluded from equal
Ashburn-Nardo L, Knowles ML, Monteith MJ. employment opportunities: research on labor
2003. Black Americans implicit racial asso- market and institutional barriers. J. Soc. Is-
ciations and their implications for intergroup sues 43:539
judgment. Soc. Cogn. 21:6187 Branscombe NR. 1998. Thinking about ones
Ashmore RD, Deaux K, McLaughlin-Volpe T. gender groups privileges or disadvantages:
2004. An organizing framework for collec- consequences for well-being in women and
tive identity: articulation and significance of men. Br. J. Soc. Psychol. 37:16784
multidimensionality. Psychol. Bull. 130:80 Branscombe NR, Schmitt MT, Harvey RD.
114 1999. Perceiving pervasive discrimination
Bargh JA, Chen M, Burrows L. 1996. Auto- among African Americans: implications for
maticity of social behavior: direct effects of group identification and well-being. J. Per-
trait construct and stereotype activation on sonal. Soc. Psychol. 77:13549
action. J. Personal. Soc. Psychol. 71:23044 Broman CL. 1996. Coping with personal prob-
Bat-Chava Y. 1994. Group identification and lems. In Mental Health in Black America,
self-esteem of deaf adults. Personal. Soc. ed. HW Neighbors, JS Jackson, pp. 11729.
Psychol. Bull. 20:494502 Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage
Ben-Zeev T, Fein S, Inzlicht M. 2004. Does Brown RP, Pinel EC. 2002. Stigma on my
arousal mediate stereotype threat? J. Exp. mind: individual differences in the experi-
Soc. Psychol. In press ence of stereotype threat. J. Exp. Soc. Psy-
Blascovich J, Mendes WB. 2000. Challenge chol. 39:62633
and threat appraisals: the role of affective Cartwright D. 1950. Emotional dimensions of
cues. In Feeling and Thinking: The Role of group life. In Feelings and Emotions, ed. ML
Affect in Social Cognition. Studies in Emo- Raymert, pp. 43947. New York: McGraw-
tion and Social Interaction, ed. JP Forgas, Hill
pp. 5982. New York: Cambridge Univ. Chen E, Matthews KA. 2003. Development of
Press. 2nd ser. the cognitive appraisal and understanding of
Blascovich J, Mendes WB, Seery MD. 2000. social events (CAUSE) videos. Health Psy-
Intergroup encounters and threat: a multi- chol. 22:10610
method approach. In From Prejudice to In- Clark K, Clark M. 1947. Racial identification
tergroup Emotions: Differentiated Reactions and preference in Negro children. In Read-
to Social Groups, ed. DM Mackie, ER Smith, ings in Social Psychology, ed. TM Newcomb,
pp. 89109. New York: Psychol. Press EL Hartley, pp. 16978. New York: Holt
414 MAJOR OBRIEN
Clark R, Anderson NB, Clark VR, Williams self-esteem: the self-protective properties of
DR. 1999. Racism as a stressor for African stigma. Psychol. Rev. 96:60830
Americans: a biopsychosocial model. Am. Crocker J, Major B, Steele C. 1998. Social
Psychol. 54:80516 stigma. In Handbook of Social Psychology,
Cohen G, Steele CM, Ross LD. 1999. The men- ed. S Fiske, D Gilbert, G Lindzey, vol. 2,
tors dilemma: providing critical feedback pp. 50453. Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill
across the racial divide. Personal. Soc. Psy- Crocker J, Voelkl K, Testa M, Major B. 1991.
chol. Bull. 25:130218 Social stigma: the affective consequences
Cole SW, Kemeny ME, Taylor SE. 1997. So- of attributional ambiguity. J. Personal. Soc.
cial identity and physical health: acceler- Psychol. 60:21828
ated HIV progression in rejection-sensitive Crosby F. 1982. Relative Deprivation and
gay men. J. Personal. Soc. Psychol. 72:320 Working Women. New York: Oxford Univ.
35 Press
Compas BE, Connor JK, Saltzman H, Thom- Crosby F, Pufall A, Snyder RC, OConnell M,
sen A, Wadsworth M. 1999. Getting specific Whalen P. 1989. The denial of personal dis-
about coping: effortful and involuntary re- advantage among you, me, and all the other
sponses to stress in development. In Sooth- ostriches. In Genders Thought: Psychologi-
ing and Stress, ed. M Lewis, D Ramsay, cal Perspectives, ed. M Crawford, M Gentry,
pp. 22956. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum pp. 7999. New York: Springer-Verlag
Contrada RJ, Ashmore RD, Gary ML, Coups E, Darley JM, Fazio RH. 1980. Expectancy con-
Egeth JD, et al. 2001. Measures of ethnicity- firmation processes arising in the social in-
related stress: psychometric properties, eth- teraction sequence. Am. Psychol. 35:86781
nic group differences, and associations with Davies PG, Spencer SJ, Quinn DM, Gerhard-
well-being. J. Appl. Soc. Psychol. 31:1775 stein R. 2002. Consuming images: how tele-
820 vision commercials that elicit stereotype
Crandall CS. 1994. Prejudice against fat peo- threat can restrain women academically and
ple: ideology and self-interest. J. Personal. professionally. Personal. Soc. Psychol. Bull.
Soc. Psychol. 66:88294 28:161528
Crandall CS. 1995. Do parents discriminate Deaux K, Major B. 1987. Putting gender into
against their heavyweight daughters? Per- context: an interactive model of gender-
sonal. Soc. Psychol. Bull. 21:72435 related behavior. Psychol. Rev. 94:36989
Crandall CS, Eshleman A. 2003. A justi- Diaz RM, Ayala G, Bein E, Henne J, Marin BV.
fication-suppression model of the expression 2001. The impact of homophobia, poverty,
and experience of prejudice. Psychol. Bull. and racism on the mental health of gay and
129:41446 bisexual Latino men. Am. J. Public Health
Crocker J. 1999. Social stigma and self-esteem: 91:92732
situational construction of self worth. J. Exp. Dickerson S, Kemeny ME. 2004. Acute stres-
Soc. Psychol. 35:89107 sors and cortisol responses: a theoretical inte-
Crocker J, Luhtanen R, Blaine B, Broadnax gration and synthesis of laboratory research.
S. 1994. Collective self-esteem and psycho- Psychol. Bull. 130:35591
logical well-being among white, black, and Dijksterhuis A, Aarts H, Bargh JA, van Knip-
Asian college students. Personal. Soc. Psy- penberg A. 2000. On the relationship be-
chol. Bull. 20:50313 tween associative strength and automatic be-
Crocker J, Cornwell B, Major B. 1993. The havior. J. Exp. Soc. Psychol. 36:53144
stigma of overweight: the affective conse- Eccles J, Jacobs JE, Harold RD. 1990. Gen-
quences of attributional ambiguity. J. Per- der role stereotypes, expectancy effects, and
sonal. Soc. Psychol. 64:6070 parents socialization of gender differences.
Crocker J, Major B. 1989. Social stigma and J. Soc. Issues 46:183201
Ellemers N, Spears R, Doosje B. 2002. Self and esteem and self-concept. J. Personal. Soc.
social identity. Annu. Rev. Psychol. 53:161 Psychol. 79:102238
86 Guyll M, Matthews KA, Bromberger JT. 2001.
Fang CY, Myers HF. 2001. The effects of racial Discrimination and unfair treatment: rela-
stressors and hostility on cardiovascular re- tionship to cardiovascular reactivity among
activity in African American and Caucasian African American and European American
men. Health Psychol. 20:6470 women. Health Psychol. 20:31525
Fazio RH, Effrein EA, Falender V. 1981. Self- Harrell SP. 2000. A multidimensional concep-
perceptions following social interaction. J. tualization of racism-related stress: implica-
Personal. Soc. Psychol. 41:23242 tions for the well-being of people of color.
Fazio RH, Olson MA. 2003. Implicit measures Am. J. Orthopsychiatry 70:4257
in social cognition research: their meaning Harris MJ, Milich R, Corbitt EM, Hoover DW,
and uses. Annu. Rev. Psychol. 54:297327 Brady M. 1992. Self-fulfilling effects of stig-
Feldman-Barrett L, Swim JK. 1998. Appraisals matizing information on childrens social

of prejudice and discrimination. In Preju- interactions. J. Personal. Soc. Psychol. 63:
dice: The Targets Perspective, ed. JK Swim, 4150
C Stangor, pp. 1136. San Diego, CA: Aca- Heatherton TF, Kleck RE, Hebl MR, Hull JG,
demic eds. 2000. The Social Psychology of Stigma.
Finch BK, Kolody B, Vega WA. 2000. Per- New York: Guilford
ceived discrimination and depression among Hebl MR, Tickle J, Heatherton TF. 2000. Awk-
Mexican-origin adults in California. J. ward moments in interactions between non-
Health Soc. Behav. 41:295313 stigmatized and stigmatized individuals. See
Fiske S. 1993. Controlling other people: the im- Heatherton et al. 2000, pp. 275306
pact of power on stereotyping. Am. Psychol. Horowitz RE. 1939. Racial aspects of self-
48:62128 identification in nursery school children. J.
Flack JM, Amoro H, Jenkins W, Kunitz S, Levy Psychol. 7:9199
J, et al. 1995. Panel I: epidemiology of mi- Hummert ML, Garstka TA, OBrien LT, Green-
nority health. Health Psychol. 14:592600 wald AG, Mellot DS. 2002. Using the im-
Garstka TA, Schmitt MT, Branscombe NR, plicit association test to measure age differ-
Hummert ML. 2004. How young and older ences in implicit social cognitions. Psychol.
adults differ in their responses to perceived Aging 17:48295
age discrimination. Psychol. Aging 19:326 Inzlicht M, Ben-Zeev T. 2000. A threatening
35 intellectual environment: why females are
Goffman E. 1963. Stigma: Notes on the Man- susceptible to experiencing problem-solving
agement of Spoiled Identity. New York: Pren- deficits in the presence of males. Psychol.
tice Hall Sci. 11:36571
Good C, Aronson J, Inzlicht M. 2003. Im- Inzlicht M, Ben-Zeev T. 2003. Do high-
proving adolescents standardized test per- achieving female students underperform in
formance: an intervention to reduce the private? The implication of threatening envi-
effects of stereotype threat. J. Appl. Dev. Psy- ronments on intellectual processing. J. Educ.
chol. 24:64562 Psychol. 95:796805
Greenwald AG, Banaji MR, Rudman LA, Farn- Inzlicht M, Good C. 2004. Are you threatening
ham SD, Nosek BA, Mellott DS. 2002. A uni- me? How environments can threaten intel-
fied theory of implicit attitudes, stereotypes, lectual performance, sense of belonging, and
self-esteem, and self-concept. Psychol. Rev. self-concept. See Levin & van Laar 2004. In
109:325 press
Greenwald AG, Farnham SD. 2000. Using the Jackson JS, Brown TN, Williams DR, Tor-
Implicit Association Test to measure self- res M, Sellers SL, Brown K. 1996. Racism
416 MAJOR OBRIEN
and the physical and mental health status of vances in Experimental Social Psychology,
African Americans: a thirteen-year national ed. MP Zanna, vol. 28, pp. 281388. San
panel study. Ethn. Dis. 6:13247 Diego, CA: Academic
James SA, Hartnett SA, Kalsbeek WD. 1983. Jussim L, Palumbo P, Chatman C, Madon S,
John Henryism and blood pressure differ- Smith A. 2000. Stigma and self-fulfilling
ences among black men. J. Behav. Med. prophecies. See Heatherton et al. 2000, pp.
6:25978 374418
James SA, LaCroix AZ, Kleinbaum DG, Stro- Kaiser CR, Major B, McCoy SK. 2004a. Ex-
gatz DS. 1984. John Henryism and blood pectations about the future and the emotional
pressure differences among black men: II. consequences of perceiving prejudice. Per-
The role of occupational stressors. J. Behav. sonal. Soc. Psychol. Bull. 30:17384
Med. 6:25773 Kaiser CR, Vick SB, Major B. 2004b. Preju-
Jetten J, Branscombe NR, Schmitt MT, Spears dice expectations moderate preconscious at-
R. 2001. Rebels with a cause: group identi- tention to social identity threatening cues.
fication as a response to perceived discrim- Submitted
ination from the mainstream. Personal. Soc. Kaiser CR, Miller CT. 2001. Stop complain-
Psychol. Bull. 27:120413 ing! The social costs of making attributions to
Jones EE, Farina A, Hastorf AH, Markus H, discrimination. Personal. Soc. Psychol. Bull.
Miller DT, Scott RA. 1984. Social Stigma: 27:25463
The Psychology of Marked Relationships. Karpinski A, Hilton JL. 2001. Attitudes and
New York: Freeman the implicit association test. J. Personal. Soc.
Josephs RA, Newman ML, Brown RP, Beer JM. Psychol. 81:77488
2003. Status, testosterone, and human intel- Keller J. 2002. Blatant stereotype threat and
lectual performance: stereotype threat as sta- womens math performance: self-handi-
tus concern. Psychol. Sci. 14:15863 capping as a strategic means to cope with ob-
Jost JT, Banaji MR. 1994. The role of stereotyp- trusive negative performance expectations.
ing in system-justification and the production Sex Roles 47:19398
of false consciousness. Br. J. Soc. Psychol. Keller J, Dauenheimer D. 2003. Stereotype
33:127 threat in the classroom: Dejection mediates
Jost JT, Major B. 2001. The Psychology of Le- the disrupting threat effect on womens math
gitimacy: Emerging Perspective on Ideology, performance. Personal. Soc. Psychol. Bull.
Justice, and Intergroup Relations. New York: 29:37181
Cambridge Univ. Press Kessler RC, Mickelson KD, Williams DR.
Jost JT, Pelham BW, Carvallo MR. 2002. Non- 1999. The prevalence, distribution, and men-
conscious forms of system justification: im- tal health correlates of perceived discrimi-
plicit and behavioral preferences for higher nation in the United States. J. Health Soc.
status groups. J. Exp. Soc. Psychol. 38:586 Behav. 40:20830
602 Klein K, Boals A. 2001. The relationship of life
Jost JT, Pelham BW, Sheldon O, Sullivan BN. event stress and working memory capacity.
2003. Social inequality and the reduction of Appl. Cogn. Psychol. 15:56579
ideological dissonance on behalf of the sys- Kling KC, Hyde JS, Showers CJ, Buswell
tem: evidence of enhanced system justifica- BN. 1999. Gender differences in self-esteem:
tion among the disadvantaged. Eur. J. Soc. a meta-analysis. Psychol. Bull. 125:470
Psychol. 33:1336 500
Jussim L, Eccles J, Madon S. 1996. Social Klonoff EA, Landrine H, Cambell R. 2000.
perception, social stereotypes, and teacher Sexist discrimination may account for well-
expectations: accuracy and the quest for known gender differences in psychiatric
the powerful self-fulfilling prophecy. In Ad- symptoms. Psychol. Women Q. 24:9399
Krieger N. 1990. Racial and gender discrimi- isons, legitimacy appraisals, and group mem-
nation: risk factors for high blood pressure? bership. In Advances in Experimental Social
Soc. Sci. Med. 30:127381 Psychology, ed. MP Zanna, vol. 26, pp. 293
Krieger N. 2000. Discrimination and health. 355. San Diego, CA: Academic
In Social Epidemiology, ed. LF Berkman, I Major B, Barr L, Zubek J, Babey SH. 1999.
Kawachi, pp. 3675. London: Oxford Univ. Gender and self-esteem: a meta-analysis. In
Press Sexism and Stereotypes in Modern Society:
Krieger N, Sidney S. 1996. Racial discrimina- The Gender Science of Janet Taylor Spence,
tion and blood pressure: the CARDIA study ed. WB Swann, JH Langlois, LA Gilbert,
of young black and white adults. Am. J. Pub- pp. 22353. Washington, DC: Am. Psychol.
lic Health 86:137078 Assoc.
Kurzban R, Leary MR. 2001. Evolutionary ori- Major B, Eccleston CP. 2004. Stigma and
gins of stigmatization: the functions of social social exclusion. In Social Psychology of

exclusion. Psychol. Bull. 127:187208 Inclusion and Exclusion, ed. D Abrams, J

Lazarus RS, Folkman S. 1984. Stress, Ap- Marques, MA Hogg, pp. 6387. New York:
praisal, and Coping. New York: Springer- Psychol. Press
Verlag Major B, Gramzow R, McCoy SK, Levin S,
Leary MR, Schreindorfer LS. 1998. The Schmader T, Sidanius J. 2002a. Perceiving
stigmatization of HIV and AIDS: rubbing salt personal discrimination: the role of group sta-
in the wound. In HIV and Social Interaction, tus and status legitimizing ideology. J. Per-
ed. V Derlega, AP Barbee, pp. 1229. Thou- sonal. Soc. Psychol. 80:78296
sand Oaks, CA: Sage Major B, Kaiser CR, McCoy SK. 2003a. Its
LeDoux JE. 1996. The Emotional Brain: not my fault: when and why attributions to
The Mysterious Underpinnings of Emotional prejudice protect self-esteem. Personal. Soc.
Life. New York: Simon & Schuster Psychol. Bull. 29:77281
Levin S, van Laar C, eds. 2004. Stigma and Major B, Kaiser CR, McCoy SK. 2004. Legit-
Group Inequality: Social Psychological Per- imizing ideologies and the impact of preju-
spectives. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum. In press dice on self-esteem. Submitted
Levy B. 1996. Improving memory in old age Major B, McCoy SK, Kaiser CR, Quinton WJ.
through implicit self-stereotyping. J. Per- 2003b. Prejudice and self-esteem: a trans-
sonal. Soc. Psychol. 71:1092107 actional model. In European Review of So-
Lewis RJ, Derlega VJ, Griffin JL, Krowinski cial Psychology, ed. W Stroebe, M Hew-
AC. 2003. Stressors for gay men and les- stone, vol. 14, pp. 77104. London: Psychol.
bians: life stress, gay-related stress, stigma Press
consciousness, and depressive symptoms. J. Major B, Quinton WJ, McCoy SK. 2002b. An-
Soc. Clin. Psychol. 22:71629 tecedents and consequences of attributions to
Link BG, Phelan JC. 2001. Conceptualizing discrimination: theoretical and empirical ad-
stigma. Annu. Rev. Sociol. 27:36385 vances. In Advances in Experimental Social
Link BG, Struening EL, Neese-Todd S, As- Psychology, ed. MP Zanna, pp. 251330. San
mussen S, Phelan J. 2001. Stigma as a bar- Diego, CA: Academic
rier to recovery: the consequences of stigma Major BN, Quinton WJ, Schmader T. 2003c.
for the self-esteem of people with mental ill- Attributions to discrimination and self-
nesses. Psychiatr. Serv. 52:162126 esteem: impact of group identification and
Magley VJ, Hulin CL, Fitzgerald LF, DeNardo situational ambiguity. J. Exp. Soc. Psychol.
M. 1999. Outcomes of self-labeling sexual 39:22031
harassment. J. Appl. Psychol. 84:390402 Major B, Schmader T. 1998. Coping with
Major B. 1994. From social inequality to per- stigma through psychological disengage-
sonal entitlement: the role of social compar- ment. In Prejudice: The Targets Perspective,
418 MAJOR OBRIEN
ed. JK Swim, C Stangor, pp. 21941. San rience. J. Personal. Soc. Psychol. 83:896
Diego, CA: Academic 918
Major B, Spencer S, Schmader T, Wolfe Miller CT. 2004. Social psychological perspec-
C, Crocker J. 1998. Coping with negative tives on coping with stressors related to
stereotypes about intellectual performance: stigma. See Levin & van Laar 2004. In press
the role of psychological disengagement. Miller CT, Downey KT. 1999. A meta-analysis
Personal. Soc. Psychol. Bull. 24:3450 of heavyweight and self-esteem. Personal.
Major B, Vick SB. 2004. The psychological im- Soc. Psychol. Rev. 3:6884
pact of prejudice. In Reflecting on the Nature Miller CT, Kaiser CR. 2001. A theoretical per-
of Prejudice, ed. JF Dovidio, P Glick, L Rud- spective on coping with stigma. J. Soc. Issues
man. Malden, MA: Blackwell. In press 57:7392
Marx DM, Roman JS. 2002. Female role mod- Miller CT, Major B. 1998. Coping with stigma
els: protecting womens math test perfor- and prejudice. See Heatherton et al. 2000,
mance. Personal. Soc. Psychol. Bull. 28: pp. 24372

118393 Miller CT, Myers AM. 1998. Compensating for
McCoy SK, Major B. 2003. Group identifica- prejudice: how heavyweight people (and oth-
tion moderates emotional responses to per- ers) control outcomes despite prejudice. In
ceived prejudice. Personal. Soc. Psychol. Prejudice: The Targets Perspective, ed. JK
Bull. 29:100517 Swim, C Stangor, pp. 191218. San Diego,
McEwen BS. 1998. Stress, adaptation, and dis- CA: Academic
ease: allostasis and allostatic load. In Annals Miller CT, Rothblum ED, Felicio D, Brand P.
of the New York Academy of Sciences, ed. 1995. Compensating for stigma: obese and
SM McCann, JM Lipton, vol. 840, pp. 33 nonobese womens reactions to being visible.
44. New York: NY Acad. Sci. Personal. Soc. Psychol. Bull. 21:1093106
McEwen BS. 2000. The neurobiology of stress: Miller LS. 1995. An American Imperative: Ac-
from serendipity to clinical relevance. Brain celerating Minority Educational Advance-
Res. 886:17289 ment. New Haven, CT: Yale Univ. Press
McKown C, Weinstein RS. 2002. Modeling the National Center for Education Statistics. 2004.
role of child ethnicity and gender in chil- The Condition of Education. Washington,
drens differential responses to teacher ex- DC: Inst. Educ. Sci., U.S. Dep. Educ.
pectations. J. Appl. Soc. Psychol. 32:15984 Nelson TD. 2000. Ageism: Stereotyping and
McKown C, Weinstein RS. 2003. The devel- Prejudice Against Older Persons. Cam-
opment and consequences of stereotype con- bridge, MA: MIT Press
sciousness in middle childhood. Child Dev. Neuberg SL, Smith DM, Asher T. 2000.
74:498515 Why people stigmatize: toward a biocul-
McNeilly MD, Robinson EL, Anderson NB, tural framework. See Heatherton et al. 2000,
Pieper CF, Shah A, et al. 1995. Effects of pp. 3161
racist provocation and social support on car- Nosek BA, Banaji M, Greenwald AG. 2002.
diovascular reactivity in African American Harvesting implicit group attitudes and be-
women. Int. J. Behav. Med. 2:32138 liefs from a demonstration web site. Group
Mendoza-Denton R, Page-Gould E, Pietrzak J. Dyn. 6:10115
2004. Mechanisms for coping with status- OBrien LT, Crandall CS. 2003. Stereotype
based rejection expectations. See Levin & threat and arousal: effects on womens math
van Laar 2004. In press performance. Personal. Soc. Psychol. Bull.
Mendoza-Denton R, Purdie VJ, Downey G, 29:78289
Davis A, Pietrzak J. 2002. Sensitivity Olson MA, Fazio RH. 2003. Relationships be-
to status-based rejection: implications for tween implicit measures of prejudice: What
African American students college expe- are we measuring? Psychol. Sci. 14:63639
Olson MA, Fazio RH. 2004. Reducing the influ- ingroup bias as a function of group status.
ence of extrapersonal associations on the im- Soc. Cogn. 20:294320
plicit association test: personalizing the IAT. Scheier MF, Carver CS, Bridges MW. 2001.
J. Personal. Soc. Psychol. 86:65367 Optimism, pessimism, and psychological
Operario D, Fiske ST. 2001. Ethnic identity well-being. In Optimism and Pessimism: Im-
moderates perceptions of prejudice: judg- plications for Theory, Research, and Prac-
ments of personal versus group discrimina- tice, ed. EC Chang, pp. 189216. Washing-
tion and subtle versus blatant bias. Personal. ton, DC: Am. Psychol. Assoc.
Soc. Psychol. Bull. 27:55061 Schmader T. 2002. Gender identification mod-
Osborne JW. 1995. Race and academic disiden- erates stereotype threat effects on womens
tification. J. Educ. Psychol. 89:72835 math performance. J. Exp. Soc. Psychol.
Ostrove MJ, Adler NE, Kuppermann M, Wash- 38:194201
ington AE. 2000. Objective and subjec- Schmader T, Johns M. 2003. Converging evi-
tive assessments of socioeconomic status dence that stereotype threat reduces working
and their relationship to self-rated health memory capacity. J. Personal. Soc. Psychol.
in an ethnically diverse sample of pregnant 84:44052
women. Health Psychol. 19:61318 Schmader T, Johns M, Barquissau M. 2004. The
Park JH, Faulkner J, Schaller M. 2003. Evolved costs of accepting gender differences: the
disease-avoidance processes and contempo- role of stereotype endorsement in womens
rary anti-social behavior: prejudicial atti- experience in the math domain. Sex Roles
tudes and avoidance of people with physical 50:83550
disabilities. J. Nonverbal Behav. 27:6587 Schmader T, Major B, Eccleston CP, McCoy
Pinel EC. 1999. Stigma consciousness: the psy- SK. 2001. Devaluing domains in response
chological legacy of social stereotypes. J. to threatening intergroup comparisons: per-
Personal. Soc. Psychol. 76:11428 ceived legitimacy and the status value asym-
Pinel EC. 2002. Stigma consciousness in inter- metry. J. Personal. Soc. Psychol. 80:78296
group contexts: the power of conviction. J. Schmitt MT, Branscombe NR. 2002. The mean-
Exp. Soc. Psychol. 38:17885 ing and consequences of perceived discrimi-
Pratto P, John O. 1991. Automatic vigilance: nation in disadvantaged and privileged social
the attention-grabbing power of negative so- groups. In European Review of Social Psy-
cial information. J. Personal. Soc. Psychol. chology, ed. W Stroebe, M Hewstone, vol.
61:38091 12, pp. 16799. London: Psychol. Press
Quinn DM, Crocker J. 1999. When ideology Schmitt MT, Branscombe NR, Kobrynowicz
hurts: effects of belief in the Protestant ethic D, Owen S. 2002. Perceiving discrimination
and feeling overweight on the psychological against ones gender group has different im-
well-being of women. J. Personal. Soc. Psy- plications for well-being in women and men.
chol. 77:40214 Personal. Soc. Psychol. Bull. 28:197210
Quinn DM, Kahng SK, Crocker J. 2004. Dis- Schmitt MT, Spears R, Branscombe NR. 2003.
creditable: stigma effects of revealing a men- Constructing a minority group identity out
tal illness history on test performance. Per- of shared rejection: the case of international
sonal. Soc. Psychol. Bull. 30:80315 students. Eur. J. Soc. Psychol. 33:112
Rowley SJ, Sellers RM, Chavous TM, Smith Sechrist GB, Swim JK, Mark, MM. 2003. Mood
MA. 1998. The relationship between racial as information in making attributions to dis-
identity and self-esteem in African American crimination. Personal. Soc. Psychol. Bull.
college and high school students. J. Personal. 29:524531
Soc. Psychol. 74:71524 Sechrist GB, Swim JK, Stangor C. 2004. When
Rudman LA, Feinberg J, Fairchild K. 2002. Mi- do the stigmatized make attributions to dis-
nority members implicit attitudes: automatic crimination occurring to the self and others?
420 MAJOR OBRIEN
The roles of self-presentation and need for W Stroebe, M Hewstone, vol. 14, pp. 277
control. J. Personal. Soc. Psychol. 87:111 311. London: Psychol. Press
22 Steele CM. 1992. Race and the schooling of
Sekaquaptewa D, Thompson M. 2002. The dif- African Americans. Atl. Mon. 269:6878
ferential effects of solo status on members of Steele CM. 1997. A threat in the air: how stereo-
high- and low-status groups. Personal. Soc. types shape intellectual identity and perfor-
Psychol. Bull. 28:694707 mance. Am. Psychol. 52:61329
Sekaquaptewa D, Thompson M. 2003. Solo sta- Steele CM, Aronson J. 1995. Stereotype threat
tus, stereotype threat, and performance ex- and the intellectual test performance of
pectancies: their effects on womens perfor- African Americans. J. Personal. Soc. Psy-
mance. J. Exp. Soc. Psychol. 39:6874 chol. 69:797811
Sellers RM, Shelton JN. 2003. The role of racial Steele CM, Spencer SJ, Aronson J. 2002. Con-
identity in perceived racial discrimination. J. tending with group image: the psychology of
Personal. Soc. Psychol. 84:107992 stereotype and social identity threat. In Ad-
Shih M, Ambady N, Richeson JA, Fujita K, vances in Experimental Social Psychology,
Heather G. 2002. Stereotype performance ed. MP Zanna, vol. 34, pp. 379440. San
boosts: the impact of self-relevance and the Diego, CA: Academic
manner of stereotype activation. J. Personal. Stone J. 2002. Battling doubt by avoiding prac-
Soc. Psychol. 83:63847 tice: the effects of stereotype threat on self-
Sidanius J, Pratto F. 1999. Social Dominance: handicapping in white athletes. Personal.
An Intergroup Theory of Social Hierar- Soc. Psychol. Bull. 28:116778
chy and Oppression. New York: Cambridge Swim JK, Hyers LL, Cohen LL, Ferguson MJ.
Univ. Press 2001. Everyday sexism: evidence for its in-
Smith CA. 1991. The self, appraisal, and cop- cidence, nature, and psychological impact
ing. In Handbook of Social and Clinical from three daily diary studies. J. Soc. Issues
Psychology: The Health Perspective, ed. CR 57:3153
Snyder, DR Forsyth, pp. 11637. Elmsford, Swim JK, Thomas MA. 2004. Responses to
NY: Pergamon stigma: a synthesis. See Levin & van Laar
Snyder M, Tanke ED, Berscheid E. 1977. Social 2004. In press
perception and interpersonal behavior: on the Tajfel H, Turner JC. 1986. The social iden-
self-fulfilling nature of social stereotypes. J. tity theory of intergroup behavior. In The
Personal. Soc. Psychol. 35:65666 Psychology of Intergroup Relations, ed. S
Spencer S, Steele CM, Quinn DM. 1999. Worchel, WG Austin, pp. 724. Chicago:
Stereotype threat and womens math perfor- Nelson-Hall
mance. J. Exp. Soc. Psychol. 35:428 Taylor DM, Wright SC, Porter LE. 1994. Di-
Stangor C, Swim JK, Van Allen KL, Sechrist mensions of perceived discrimination: the
GB. 2002. Reporting discrimination in pub- personal/group discrimination discrepancy.
lic and private contexts. J. Personal. Soc. Psy- In The Psychology of Prejudice: The Ontario
chol. 82:6974 Symposium, ed. MP Zanna, JM Olson, vol. 7,
Stangor C, Swim JK, Sechrist GB. 2003a. Sen- pp. 23355. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum
sitivity to sexism and perceptions of reports Taylor J, Turner RJ. 2002. Perceived discrim-
about sexist events. Swiss J. Psychol. 48:251 ination, social stress, and depression in the
56 transition to adulthood: racial contrasts. Soc.
Stangor C, Swim JK, Sechrist GB, DeCoster Psychol. Q. 65:21325
J, Van Allen KL, Ottenbreit A. 2003b. Ask, Twenge J, Crocker J. 2002. Race, ethnicity,
Answer, and Announce: three stages in per- and self-esteem: meta-analyses comparing
ceiving and responding to discrimination. In whites, blacks, Hispanics, Asians, and Na-
European Review of Social Psychology, ed. tive Americans, including a commentary on
Gray-Little and Hafdahl (2000). Psychol. questions, emerging directions. Ann. Epi-
Bull. 128:371408 demiol. 7:32233
Vorauer J, Kumhyr SM. 2001. Is this about you Williams DR, Yu Y, Jackson J, Anderson N.
or me? Self- versus other-directed judgments 1997. Racial differences in physical and men-
and feelings in response to intergroup inter- tal health: socioeconomic status, stress and
action. Personal. Soc. Psychol. Bull. 27:706 discrimination. J. Health Psychol. 2:335
19 51
Walton GM, Cohen GL. 2003. Stereotype life. Winkielman P, Berridge K. 2004. Unconscious
J. Exp. Soc. Psychol. 39:45667 emotion. Curr. Dir. Psychol. Sci. 13:12023
Wheeler SC, Petty RE. 2001. The effects Yinger JM. 1994. Ethnicity: Source of Strength?
of stereotype activation on behavior: a re- Source of Conflict? Albany, NY: State Univ.
view of possible mechanisms. Psychol. Bull. NY Press
127:797826 Zajonc RB. 2000. Feeling and thinking: closing

Wheeler SC, Petty RE, Jarvis WBG. 2001. the debate over the independence of affect.
Think unto others: the self-destructive im- In Feeling and Thinking: The Role of Affect
pact of negative racial stereotypes. J. Exp. in Social Cognition. Studies in Emotion and
Soc. Psychol. 37:17380 Social Interaction, Second Series, pp. 3158.
Williams DR. 1997. Race and health: basic New York: Cambridge Univ. Press
P1: JRX
December 8, 2004 12:13 Annual Reviews AR231-FM
Annual Review of Psychology

Volume 56, 2005
CONTENTS
FrontispieceRichard F. Thompson xviii
PREFATORY
In Search of Memory Traces, Richard F. Thompson 1

DECISION MAKING
Indeterminacy in Brain and Behavior, Paul W. Glimcher 25
BRAIN IMAGING/COGNITIVE NEUROSCIENCE
Models of Brain Function in Neuroimaging, Karl J. Friston 57
MUSIC PERCEPTION
Brain Organization for Music Processing, Isabelle Peretz
and Robert J. Zatorre 89
SOMESTHETIC AND VESTIBULAR SENSES
Vestibular, Proprioceptive, and Haptic Contributions
to Spatial Orientation, James R. Lackner and Paul DiZio 115
CONCEPTS AND CATEGORIES
Human Category Learning, F. Gregory Ashby and W. Todd Maddox 149
ANIMAL LEARNING AND BEHAVIOR: CLASSICAL
Pavlovian Conditioning: A Functional Perspective,
Michael Domjan 179
NEUROSCIENCE OF LEARNING
The Neuroscience of Mammalian Associative Learning,
Michael S. Fanselow and Andrew M. Poulos 207
HUMAN DEVELOPMENT: EMOTIONAL, SOCIAL, AND PERSONALITY
Behavioral Inhibition: Linking Biology and Behavior Within a
Developmental Framework, Nathan A. Fox, Heather A. Henderson,
Peter J. Marshall, Kate E. Nichols, and Melissa A. Ghera 235
BIOLOGICAL AND GENETIC PROCESSES IN DEVELOPMENT
Human Development: Biological and Genetic Processes,
Irving I. Gottesman and Daniel R. Hanson 263
vii
P1: JRX
viii CONTENTS
SPECIAL TOPICS IN PSYCHOPATHOLOGY

The Psychology and Neurobiology of Suicidal Behavior,
Thomas E. Joiner Jr., Jessica S. Brown, and LaRicka R. Wingate 287
DISORDERS OF CHILDHOOD
Autism in Infancy and Early Childhood, Fred Volkmar,
Kasia Chawarska, and Ami Klin 315
CHILD/FAMILY THERAPY
Youth Psychotherapy Outcome Research: A Review and Critique
of the Evidence Base, John R. Weisz, Amanda Jensen Doss,
and Kristin M. Hawley 337

ALTRUISM AND AGGRESSION

Prosocial Behavior: Multilevel Perspectives, Louis A. Penner,
John F. Dovidio, Jane A. Piliavin, and David A. Schroeder 365
INTERGROUP RELATIONS, STIGMA, STEREOTYPING,
PREJUDICE, DISCRIMINATION
The Social Psychology of Stigma, Brenda Major
and Laurie T. OBrien 393
PERSONALITY PROCESSES
Personality Architecture: Within-Person Structures and Processes,
Daniel Cervone 423
PERSONALITY DEVELOPMENT: STABILITY AND CHANGE
Personality Development: Stability and Change, Avshalom Caspi,
Brent W. Roberts, and Rebecca L. Shiner 453
WORK MOTIVATION
Work Motivation Theory and Research at the Dawn of the Twenty-First
Century, Gary P. Latham and Craig C. Pinder 485
GROUPS AND TEAMS
Teams in Organizations: From Input-Process-Output Models to IMOI
Models, Daniel R. Ilgen, John R. Hollenbeck, Michael Johnson,
and Dustin Jundt 517
LEADERSHIP
Presidential Leadership, George R. Goethals 545
PERSONNEL EVALUATION AND COMPENSATION
Personnel Psychology: Performance Evaluation and Pay for Performance,
Sara L. Rynes, Barry Gerhart, and Laura Parks 571
P1: JRX
CONTENTS ix
PSYCHOPHYSIOLOGICAL DISORDERS AND PSYCHOLOGICAL EFFECTS

ON MEDICAL DISORDERS
Psychological Approaches to Understanding and Treating Disease-Related
Pain, Francis J. Keefe, Amy P. Abernethy, and Lisa C. Campbell 601
TIMELY TOPIC
Psychological Evidence at the Dawn of the Laws Scientific Age,
David L. Faigman and John Monahan 631
INDEXES
Subject Index 661

Cumulative Index of Contributing Authors, Volumes 4656 695

Cumulative Index of Chapter Titles, Volumes 4656 700
ERRATA
An online log of corrections to Annual Review of Psychology chapters
may be found at http://psych.annualreviews.org/errata.shtml

Social Stigma

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Social Stigma

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Social Stigma

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

18 Nov 2004 12:58 AR AR231-PS56-15.tex AR231-PS56-15.

sgm LaTeX2e(2002/01/18) P1: IKH

Annu. Rev. Psychol. 2005. 56:393421

THE SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY OF STIGMA

394 MAJOR OBRIEN

psychologists have long been interested in the causes of stereotyping, prejudice,

and discrimination, only recently have they focused in earnest on understanding

THE SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY OF STIGMA 395

or avoiding members of the stereotyped category (Leary & Schreindorfer 1998,

396 MAJOR OBRIEN

Negative Treatment and Discrimination

Expectancy Confirmation Processes

THE SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY OF STIGMA 397

done so suggest that expectancy confirmation processes may be exacerbated when

Automatic Stereotype Activation-Behavior

Stigma as Identity Threat

398 MAJOR OBRIEN

A MODEL OF STIGMA-INDUCED IDENTITY THREAT

Figure 1 An identity-threat model of stigma.

THE SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY OF STIGMA 399

appraises the demands imposed by a stigma-relevant stressor as potentially harm-

400 MAJOR OBRIEN

STIGMA SENSITIVITY Individuals differ in their chronic sensitivity to being stig-

THE SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY OF STIGMA 401

GROUP IDENTIFICATION Individuals who regard their stigmatized social identity

DOMAIN IDENTIFICATION Individuals who strongly identify with domains in

402 MAJOR OBRIEN

Identity Threat Appraisals

perceived demands of a self-relevant situation are appraised as exceeding ones

Involuntary Responses to Identity Threat

THE SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY OF STIGMA 403

to lower working memory capacity among individuals targeted by the stereotype

Coping in Response to Threats to the Self

404 MAJOR OBRIEN

distancing oneself from the group).

BLAMING DISCRIMINATION VERSUS BLAMING THE SELF When members of stig-

THE SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY OF STIGMA 405

may be warranted and beneficial to self-esteem, targets of discrimination may be

DISENGAGEMENT VERSUS STRIVING Another way in which the stigmatized may

or unfairly treated so that their performance in that domain is no longer important

GROUP IDENTIFICATION VERSUS DISIDENTIFICATION Members of stigmatized

406 MAJOR OBRIEN

et al. 2004), international students at an American university (Schmitt et al. 2003),

THE SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY OF STIGMA 407

408 MAJOR OBRIEN

contexts. Self-esteem varies as a function of collective representations, situational

how collective representations, situational cues, and personal characteristics affect

implicit measures of self-esteem among stigmatized groups.

THE SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY OF STIGMA 409

to appraise stereotype-relevant situations as threats to their social identity, such

410 MAJOR OBRIEN

physiological threat responses, including elevated cortisol, increased blood pres-

and with self-reported physical health problems, such as hypertension, number of

THE SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY OF STIGMA 411

engaging in a nonsocial stress task) compared to African American women who

more exposed to the risk of social rejection.

412 MAJOR OBRIEN

group favoritism among stigmatized groups on implicit measures is unclear. Does

this indicate lower implicit collective self-esteem among stigmatized groups or

The Annual Review of Psychology is online at http://psych.annualreviews.org