1st Edition

Stigma and Group Inequality Social Psychological Perspectives

Edited By Shana Levin, Colette Van Laar Copyright 2006
    376 Pages
    by Psychology Press

    348 Pages
    by Psychology Press

    This book provides a snapshot of the latest theoretical and empirical work on social psychological approaches to stigma and group inequality. It focuses on the perspective of the stigmatized groups and discusses the effects of the stigma on the individual, the interacting partners, the groups to which they belong, and the relations between the groups.

    Broken into three major sections, Stigma and Group Inequality:
    *discusses the tradeoffs that stigmatized individuals must contend with as they weigh the benefits derived from a particular response to stigma against the costs associated with it;
    *explores the ways in which environments can threaten one's intellectual performance, sense of belonging, and self concept; and
    *argues that the experience of possessing a stigmatized identity is shaped by social interactions with others in the stigmatized group as well as members of other groups.

    Stigma and Group Inequality is a valuable resource for students and scholars in the fields of psychology, sociology, social work, anthropology, communication, public policy, and political science, particularly for courses on stigma, prejudice, and intergroup relations. The book is also accessible to teachers, administrators, community leaders, and concerned citizens who are trying to understand and improve the plight of stigmatized individuals in school, at work, at home, in the community, and in society at large.

    Contents: Preface. C. van Laar, S. Levin, The Experience of Stigma: Individual, Interpersonal, and Situational Influences. Part I: Confronting, Concealing, and Coping: Responses to Stigma. C.T. Miller, Social Psychological Perspectives on Coping With Stressors Related to Stigma. C.R. Kaiser, Dominant Ideology Threat and the Interpersonal Consequences of Attributions to Discrimination. J.N. Shelton, J.A. Richeson, J. Salvatore, D.M. Hill, Silence Is Not Golden: The Intrapersonal Consequences of Not Confronting Prejudice. D.M. Quinn, Concealable Versus Conspicuous Stigmatized Indentities. J.K. Swim, M.A. Thomas, Responding to Everyday Discrimination: A Synthesis of Research on Goal Directed, Self-Regulatory Coping Behaviors. Part II: Stigma in the Social Context: Coping With Threatening Environments. M. Inzlicht, C. Good, How Environments Can Threaten Academic Performance, Self-Knowledge, and Sense of Belonging. R. Mendoza-Denton, E. Page-Gould, J. Pietrzak, Mechanisms for Coping With Status-Based Rejection Expectations. L.R. Troop, Stigma and Intergroup Contact Among Members of Minority and Majority Status Groups. B. Major, New Perspectives on Stigma and Psychological Well-Being. Part III: Stigma and the Social Basis of the Self. T. McLaughlin-Volpe, Understanding Stigma From the Perspective of the Self-Expansion Model. S. Sinclair, J. Huntsinger, The Interpersonal Basis of Self-Stereotyping. T. Schmader, B. Lickel, Stigma and Shame: Emotional Responses to the Stereotypic Actions of One's Ethnic Ingroup. J. Crocker, J.A. Garcia, Stigma and the Social Basis of the Self: A Synthesis.

    Biography

    Shana Levin, Colette Van Laar

    "...this book constitutes added value for any who ponder the phenomenology of being a target of stereotyping, prejudice, and discrimination or even the dynamic interactions between stigmatized and relatively non stigmatized groups and individuals....represents a coming of age for research on the target's perspective of stigma."
    PsycCRITIQUES