When Stigma Confronts Stigma

Abstract

Do blacks differ from whites in their ascription of negative stereotypes to former mental patients? Because blacks are aware that they themselves are often the victims of negative stereotyping, they might show greater reluctance to apply negative stereotypes to others marked by society as "deviant. " Black and white subjects were shown a character sketch of a target person who was depressed and had other symptoms of emotional distress. They were asked (among other questions) to decide whether he should be committed to an institution. The target person was or was not labeled a former mental patient, and the potential victimization of blacks was or was not made salient. The results showed that blacks were more tolerant of the deviant target person when he was clearly labeled as deviant and when black victimization in other contexts was made salient. Blacks were less tolerant than whites in the absence of such information.