It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Stigma (sociological theory). (Discuss)

Social stigma is severe social disapproval of personal characteristics or beliefs that are against cultural norms. Social stigma often leads to marginalization. Image File history File links Merge-arrows. ... Belief is assent to a proposition. ... It has been suggested that Convention (norm) be merged into this article or section. ... This article is about the sociological concept. ...

Examples of existing or historic social stigmas can be physical or mental disabilities and disorders, as well as illegitimacy, homosexuality or affiliation with a specific nationality, religion (or lack of religion^[1][2]) or ethnicity, such as being a Jew, an African American, or a Gypsy. Likewise, criminality carries a strong social stigma. Disabilities are limitations in activity and/or functioning that are attributable to permanent medical conditions in physical, mental, emotional, and/or sensory domains and, significantly, are also due to societal responses to those limitations. ... A mental illness or mental disorder refers to one of many mental health conditions characterized by distress, impaired cognitive functioning, atypical behavior, emotional dysregulation, and/or maladaptive behavior. ... Illegitimacy is the status that was once commonly ascribed to individuals born to parents who were not married. ... Homosexuality refers to sexual interaction and / or romantic attraction between individuals of the same sex. ... In English usage, nationality is the legal relationship between a person and a country. ... This article or section should be merged with ethnic group Ethnicity is the cultural characteristics that connect a particular group or groups of people to each other. ... An African American (also Afro-American, Black American, or simply black) is a member of an ethnic group in the United States whose ancestors, usually in predominant part, were indigenous to Africa. ... Language(s) Romani, languages of native region Religion(s) Romanipen, combined with assimilations from local religions Related ethnic groups South Asians (Desi) This article is about the Indo-Aryan ethnic group. ... For other uses, see Crime (disambiguation). ...

Stigma comes in three forms:^[3] Overt or external deformations. Examples of this are scars, physical manifestations of anorexia nervosa, leprosy, or a physical disability. Second, the known deviations in personal traits. For example, drug addicts, alcoholics, and criminals are stigmatized in this way. Third, "tribal stigmas" are traits of a race, nation, or religion that constitute a deviation from the normative race, nationality or religion. For example, Jewish people in Nazi Germany. Although the specific social categories that become stigmatized can vary across times and places, the three basic forms of stigma (physical deformity, poor personal traits, and tribal outgroup status) are found in most cultures and time periods, leading some psychologists to hypothesize that the tendency to stigmatize may have evolutionary roots. This article does not cite any references or sources. ... For other uses, see Anorexia. ... For the malady found in the Hebrew Bible, see the article Tzaraath. ... The term disability, as it is applied to humans, refers to any condition that impedes the completion of daily tasks using traditional methods. ... Drug addiction, or dependency is the compulsive use of drugs, to the point where the user has no effective choice but to continue use. ... King Alcohol and his Prime Minister circa 1820 Alcoholism is the consumption of or preoccupation with alcoholic beverages to the extent that this behavior interferes with the alcoholics normal personal, family, social, or work life. ... The word Jew ( Hebrew: יהודי) is used in a wide number of ways, but generally refers to a follower of the Jewish faith, a child of a Jewish mother, or someone of Jewish descent with a connection to Jewish culture or ethnicity and often a combination of these attributes. ... Nazi Germany, or the Third Reich, commonly refers to Germany in the years 1933–1945, when it was under the firm control of the totalitarian and fascist ideology of the Nazi Party, with the Führer Adolf Hitler as dictator. ...

Link and Phelan Stigmatization Model

Bruce Link and Jo Phelan^[4] propose that stigma exists when four specific components converge. (1) Individuals differentiate and label human variations. (2) Prevailing cultural beliefs tie those labeled to adverse attributes. (3) Labeled individuals are placed in distinguished groups that serve to establish a sense of disconnection between “us” and “them.” (4) Labeled individuals experience “status loss and discrimination” that leads to unequal circumstances. In this model stigmatization is also contingent on “access to social, economic, and political power that allows the identification of differences, construction of stereotypes, the separation of labeled persons into distinct groups, and the full execution of disapproval, rejection, exclusion, and discrimination.” Subsequently, in this model the term stigma is applied when labeling, stereotyping, disconnection, status loss, and discrimination all exist within a power situation that facilitates stigma to occur. There are very few or no other articles that link to this one. ... Manifestations Slavery Racial profiling Lynching Hate speech Hate crime Genocide (examples) Ethnocide Ethnic cleansing Pogrom Race war Religious persecution Gay bashing Blood libel Paternalism Police brutality Movements Policies Discriminatory Race / Religion / Sex segregation Apartheid Redlining Internment Anti-discriminatory Emancipation Civil rights Desegregation Integration Equal opportunity Counter-discriminatory Affirmative action Racial... Much of the recent sociological debate on power revolves around the issue of the constraining and/or enabling nature of power. ... There is no agreed-upon definition of power in economics. ... This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ... For other uses, see Stereotype (disambiguation). ... Silent treatment redirects here. ... Manifestations Slavery Racial profiling Lynching Hate speech Hate crime Genocide (examples) Ethnocide Ethnic cleansing Pogrom Race war Religious persecution Gay bashing Blood libel Paternalism Police brutality Movements Policies Discriminatory Race / Religion / Sex segregation Apartheid Redlining Internment Anti-discriminatory Emancipation Civil rights Desegregation Integration Equal opportunity Counter-discriminatory Affirmative action Racial...

Differentiation and Labeling

Identifying which human differences are salient, and therefore worthy of labeling, is a social process. There are two primary factors to examine when considering the extent to which this process is a social one. The first issue is the fact that significant oversimplification is needed to create groups. The broad groups of black and white, homosexual and heterosexual, the sane and the mentally ill; and young and old are all examples of this. Secondly, the differences that are socially judged to be relevant differ vastly according to time and place. An example of this is the emphasis that was put on the size of forehead and faces of individuals in the late nineteenth century – which was believed to be an indication of a person’s degree of criminal nature. In sociology, a group is usually defined as a collection of humans or animals, who share certain characteristics, interact with one another, accept expectations and obligations as members of the group, and share a common identity. ... Though most indigenous Africans possess relatively dark skin, they exhibit much variation in physical appearance. ... Whites redirects here. ... Homosexuality refers to sexual interaction and / or romantic attraction between individuals of the same sex. ... One version of a Heterosexuality symbol Heterosexuality is sexual or romantic attraction between opposite sexes, and is the most common sexual orientation among humans. ... Look up sane in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... The Scream, the famous painting commonly thought of as depicting the experience of mental illness. ... For other uses, see Youth (disambiguation) Youth is defined by Websters New World Dictionary as, The time of life when one is young; especially: a: the period between childhood and maturity b: the early period of existence, growth, or development. ... Paul Kruger in his old age. ... Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Linking to Stereotypes

The second component of this model centers on the linking of labeled differences with stereotypes. Goffman’s 1963 work made this aspect of stigma prominent and it has remained so ever since. This process of applying certain stereotypes to differentiated groups of individuals has garnered a large amount of attention and research in recent decades as it helps to understand the psychological nature of the thought process taking place as this linkage occurs. For other uses, see Stereotype (disambiguation). ... Erving Goffman Erving Goffman (June 11, 1922 – November 19, 1982), was a sociologist and writer. ... For other uses, see 1963 (disambiguation). ... This article is about the concept. ... Psychological science redirects here. ...

Us and Them

The linking of negative attributes to differentiated groups of individuals described above facilitates a sense of separation between the proverbial “us” and “them.” This sense that the individuals of the labeled group are fundamentally different causes stereotyping to take place with little hesitation. The "us" and "them" component of the stigmatization process implies that the labeled group is slightly less human in nature, and at the extreme not human at all. It is at this extreme that the most horrific events occur. This article is about modern humans. ...

Disadvantage

The fourth component of stigmatization in this model includes the “status loss and discrimination” that is experienced. Many definitions of stigma do not include this aspect, however it is the belief of these authors that this loss occurs inherently as individuals are “labeled, set apart, and linked to undesirable characteristics.” The members of the labeled groups are subsequently disadvantaged in the most common group of life chances including income, education, mental well-being, housing status, health, and medical treatment. However, the authors are quick to point out that even though some groups are able to escape some of the disadvantages listed, the principle is sound when broadly applied. Manifestations Slavery Racial profiling Lynching Hate speech Hate crime Genocide (examples) Ethnocide Ethnic cleansing Pogrom Race war Religious persecution Gay bashing Blood libel Paternalism Police brutality Movements Policies Discriminatory Race / Religion / Sex segregation Apartheid Redlining Internment Anti-discriminatory Emancipation Civil rights Desegregation Integration Equal opportunity Counter-discriminatory Affirmative action Racial... Life chances (Lebenschancen in German) are the opportunities each individual has to improve their quality of life. ... Income, generally defined, is the money that is received as a result of the normal business activities of an individual or a business. ... Mental health is a term used to describe either a level of cognitive or emotional wellbeing or an absence of mental illness. ... A physician visiting the sick in a hospital. ... In Policy debate, a disadvantage (abbreviated as DA, and sometimes referred to as a Disad) is an argument that a team brings up against a policy action that is being considered. ... A principle (not principal) is something, usually a rule or norm, that is part of the basis for something else. ...

Necessity of Power

The authors also emphasize the necessity of power (social, economic, and political power) to stigmatize. While the role of power is clear in some situations, in others it can become masked as the power differences are so stark. An extreme example of a situation in which the power role was explicitly clear was the treatment of Jewish people by the Nazis. On the other hand, an example of a situation in which individuals of a stigmatized group have “stigma-related processes” occurring would be the inmates of a prison. It is very imaginable that each of the steps described above would take place regarding the inmates’ thoughts about the guards. However, this situation cannot involve true stigmatization according to this model because the prisoners do not have the economic, political, or social power to act on these thoughts with any serious discriminatory consequences. Much of the recent sociological debate on power revolves around the issue of the constraining and/or enabling nature of power. ... There is no agreed-upon definition of power in economics. ... This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ... The word Jew ( Hebrew: יהודי) is used in a wide number of ways, but generally refers to a follower of the Jewish faith, a child of a Jewish mother, or someone of Jewish descent with a connection to Jewish culture or ethnicity and often a combination of these attributes. ... Nazi Germany, or the Third Reich, commonly refers to Germany in the years 1933–1945, when it was under the firm control of the totalitarian and fascist ideology of the Nazi Party, with the Führer Adolf Hitler as dictator. ... A corrections officer, prison officer, correction officer, correctional officer, detention officer, prison guard or prison warder is a person charged with the responsibility of the supervision, safety and security of prisoners in a prison or jail. ...

See also

• Identity
• Label (sociology)
• Labelling
• Stereotype
• Taboo
• Passing (sociology)
• Collateral consequences of criminal charges

Identity is an umbrella term used throughout the social sciences for an individuals comprehension of him or herself as a discrete, separate entity. ... In sociology, the word labeling is used more as a metaphor, than a concrete concept. ... There are very few or no other articles that link to this one. ... For other uses, see Stereotype (disambiguation). ... This article is about cultural prohibitions in general, for other uses, see Taboo (disambiguation). ... Passing refers to the ability of a person to be regarded as a member of a combination of sociological groups other than his or her own, such as a different race, ethnicity, social class, gender, and/or disability status, generally with the purpose of gaining social acceptance. ... Collateral consequences of criminal charges, known as the Four Cs in legal parlance [1], are the results of arrest, prosecution or conviction that are not part of the sentence imposed. ...

Further reading

• Erving Goffman, Stigma: Notes on the Management of Spoiled Identity, Prentice-Hall, 1963, ISBN 0-671-62244-7.
• Heatherton, T. F., Kleck, R. E., Hebl, M. R., & Hull, J. G. (Eds.), The Social Psychology of Stigma, Guilford Press, 2000, ISBN 1-572-30573-8.
• Kurzban, R., & Leary, M. R. (2001). Evolutionary Origins of Stigmatization: The Functions of Social Exclusion. Psychological Bulletin 127: 187-208.

This article incorporates text translated from the corresponding German Wikipedia article. Erving Goffman Erving Goffman (June 11, 1922 – November 19, 1982), was a sociologist and writer. ... Psychological Bulletin is a scholarly journal specializing in literature reviews. ...

References

1. ^ globeandmail.com
2. ^ Atheists Attacked in Hate Crime?
3. ^ Erving Goffman, Stigma: Notes on the Management of Spoiled Identity, Prentice-Hall, 1963, ISBN 0-671-62244-7.
4. ^ Bruce G. Link and Jo C. Phelan, "Conceptualizing Stigma", Annual Review of Sociology, 2001, p.363

External links

Research group that studies stigma related to people with mental illness

This article does not cite any references or sources. (June 2007) Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed.