Stigma Acknowledgment : Why and When is it an Effective Strategy

Abstract

In the course of an interpersonal exchange, acknowledging a visible (and uncontrollable) stigma can facilitate smoother, more comfortable interactions (Hastorf, Wildfogel, & Cassman, 1979), and has been shown to foster more positive interpersonal and employment qualification feedback for the stigmatized individual (Hebl& Kleck, 2002). We conducted a study to assess the potential for acknowledgment to lead to divergent outcomes for those with visible, compared to invisible, stigmas. Specifically, we predicted that acknowledgment of a visible stigma would lead to positive impressions, whereas acknowledgment of an invisible stigma would lead to negative impressions of an experimental confederate.