Short stature, physical disabilities, facial disfigurement, stuttering, a prison record, being obese, or not being able to read, may become stigmatized attributes. In India, widowhood is a stigmatized, though no stigma attaches to a widower. As used by Erving Goffman, stigma is differentness about an individual which is given a negative evaluation by others and thus distorts and discredits the public identity of the person. Stigma may lead to the adoption of a self-identity that incorporates the negative social evaluation. Stigma is branding, a sign of social disgrace or subjection. Social Psychology and sociologists have been studying phenomena related to stigma for a long time now.
Stigma is mark or sign of social disgrace or social discredit, regarded as impressed on or carried by a person though may be through no fault of the person. Illegitimacy is considered an unambiguous social stigma. Stigma is a visible or apparent characteristic indicative of some undesirable or discreditable quality, action, or circumstance.
Stigmatization Among Probationers
Andreas Schneider, Wayne McKim. Abstract: An identity theory perspective defines stigma as negative labeling. Drawing on
the concepts of primary deviance and secondary deviance provided by labeling theory, the
authors set out to determine whether probationers experience stigmatization from within
or from others in their community. Personal
interviews were conducted. Probationers perceived
stigmatization to originate mainly from employers, and also from law enforcement officials
and the community in general. Primary stigmatization was counterbalanced by the
probationers’ perceptions of themselves and from the support of friends and family
members. Probationers did not engage in secondary deviance to the extent
expected due to the contradictions in the different forms of stigmatization.
Stigmatization of people with mental illnesses: a follow-up study within the Changing Minds campaign of the Royal College of Psychiatrists - ARTHUR CRISP, MICHAEL GELDER, EILEEN GODDARD, and HOWARD MELTZER. A population survey before the start of the Changing Minds campaign showed that negative opinions about people with mental illnesses were widely held, and that opinions about different disorders differed in important ways. We conclude that stigmatizing opinions are frequent in the community but the various disorders are not stigmatized in the same way. Campaigns to reduce stigma should take account of these differences, and of the need to address young people.
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Oyserman, D., & Swim, J. K. Stigma: An Insider's Perspective. Journal of Social Issues, 57 (special issue devoted to stigma research). (2001).
Heatherton, T. F., Kleck, R. E., Hebl, M. R., & Hull, J. G. (Eds.). The Social Psychology of Stigma. NY: Guilford Pub. (2000).
Katz, I. Stigma: A Social Psychological Analysis.
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Levin, S., & Van Laar, C. (Eds.). Stigma and Group Inequality: Social Psychological
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