The Field of Social Psychology Used to Develop a Personal Theory

Social psychology and personality psychology both came into fruition around the same time – the 1920’s and 1930’s. Needless

While stigma may not necessarily be a cause of a person’s mental disorder, it can certainly contribute to the complication and perpetuation of their illness. The effect of stigma goes well beyond just the patient and provides a commentary on society’s overall level of intolerance of those who are considered different from the majority. By recognizing the level of stigma that exists, perhaps we can alter that behavior and gravitate towards a more productive attitude towards mental illness.

“Social stigma is defined as the censure of, or dissatisfaction with, a person due to a

The human subconscious is one of the easiest things to manipulate. Companies do it all the time by continuously raising their levee exposure repeatedly by advertising constantly. Much like companies, educational institutions and societal systems influence the human subconscious in the same way, just with a strong less recognizable form of advertising. These institutions and systems use social stigma. In Malcolm Gladwell’s “the Power of Context” the power of social stigma is shown by how context effects a situation, And in Karen Ho she identify the social stigma of being “elite” and getting a higher education. Societal stigma is the way of the system (society) to advertise to their people what is okay, and what is not okay. With societal

In order to help mental health patients overcome stigma and receive treatment, it is essential to develop different support options within the community that can be useful. These include social support systems, coping mechanisms, service programs, and mental health advocacy groups. According to Chronister, Chou, & Liao, 2013, certain coping mechanisms and social support can reduce public and internalized stigma feelings leading to increased treatment seeking and greater quality of life. The main purpose of this study was to determine how five stigma coping orientations: secrecy, withdrawal, distancing, challenging, educating others, and two types of social support: emotional and tangible, effect stigma feelings

Notwithstanding experiencing poor physical wellbeing, overweight, and large kids can regularly be focuses of early social separation. The mental push of social belittling can bring about low self-regard which, thus, can prevent scholarly and social working, and hold on into adulthood (Lets Move, n.d.).

Stigma has been said to be “a feeling of being negatively differentiated owing to a particular condition, group membership or state in life”(Arboleda-Florez & Stuart, 2012, p. 458). There are typically two types of mental illness stigma that are discussed. Public stigma, also known as societal stigma, is the stigma associated with the prejudicial attitudes the public holds towards those people who suffer from mental illness (Arboleda-Florez & Stuart, 2012; Corrigan, Markowitz, Watson, Rowan & Kubiak, 2003). Self-stigma, also known as internalized stigma, is the loss of self-esteem, withdrawal, and personal shame that some with mental illness will experience. Self-stigma is usually developed when those who suffer from mental illness associate the negative stereotypes the public holds with themselves (Chronister, Chou, & Lieo, 2013; Corrigan et al., 2003).

Stigma can be defined as a mark of shame or ignominy that sets individuals apart from others. Goffman notes “Society establishes the means of categorizing persons and the complement of attributes felt to be ordinary and natural for members of each of these categories”. (Goffman) Given, when a person is labeled by said illness, disorder, or deviancy they are seen as a part of a stereotyped group and as a result are stigmatized by the “normals”. Moreover, the routines of social interactions in society allow us to create normative expectations and demands for the way ones in said society are expected to

The idea of stigma and what it is like to be a stigmatized person was conducted by sociologist Erving Goffman. He analyzed how stigmatized individuals feel about themselves and their relationships with people that are considered “normal”. Stigmatized individuals are people who are not socially accepted and are constantly eager to alter their social identifies: physically deformed people, mentally ill patients, drug addicts, homosexuals, etc.

American Psychological Association’s mission is to advance the creation, communication and psychological knowledge by conducting research, holding meetings and by setting high standards of ethics. The Pearsall Program aims to develop strategies for increasing the public on stigmatizing and to express it through media.

These researchers want the participants to come out of the group with a positive attitude for future social engagements. Henceforth, people that are faced with mental health are not seen as a part of a community but more of an onus for certain people do not know how to react with them. When mental health disorders are pushed to the side or stigmatized explicitly and implicitly this could cause negative personal problems such as developing new type of mental illness (examples: depression, feelings of isolation, and/ or rejection causing less opportunities and thinking lower of themselves). 
 Negative cognitions, negative feelings about contact and avoidance are the three largest stigmas that people with mental illness face. Many researchers have discussed simple ways to reduce and address prejudice without having a negative side effect.

There are many stigmas, or misconceptions and misperceptions in our society which need to be shattered. I believe that one of the worse possible effects of stigma is that it causes those affected by psychological disorders, or mental illness, to crawl more deeply into themselves because it provokes a sense of shame. Stigma thrusts those suffering with mental illness into a sense of isolation, social exclusion, and discrimination. “Stigma can lead to discrimination … It may be obvious or direct … Or it may be unintentional or subtle…” (Staff). Stigma is often as big as the illness itself and I confess to having been a perpetuator of this dreaded thing, although not consciously aware and without the intent of furthering the harm of someone.

Erving Goffman’s theory of social stigma (1963) will be used as a guideline for the thesis and will act as a basis for further research on personal and perceived depression stigma. Stigma is a deeply discrediting attribute which has a strong relationship to stereotype (Goffman, 1963) Goffman defines stigma as a gap between “virtual social identity and actual social identity” and states that stigmata are bodily signs which deviate from the norm (Goffman, 1963). According to him, three different types of stigma exist: (1) physical deformities, (2) blemishes of individual character and (3) tribal stigma.

Individuals with serious mental illness are doubly affected by their disease; not only do they experience the often debilitating symptoms of their condition, but they must also endure mundane mental health stigmas and prejudices. Stigmatized attitudes are perceived to be one of the greatest impediments to living a complete and fulfilling life. Stigma has been defined as a combination of three related problems: ignorance, prejudice and discrimination (Rose, Thornicroft, Pinfold, & Kassam, 2007). Ignorance implies a lack of knowledge, prejudice entails negative attitudes, and discrimination involves exclusionary actions against people deemed to be different. Two forms of stigma are commonly distinguished in literature. Public stigma describes the attitudes of society towards people with mental illness, while self-stigma results from the internalization of prejudice by people who suffer from mental health conditions (Corrigan, Powell, & Rüsch, 2012). The World Health Organization announced that stigma was the most crucial obstacle to overcome for a community to functioning effectively and efficiently (Ontario Hospital Association, 2013).

What judgments do we make about others? Everyday we make judgments in our social interactions about why others act the way they do, which is known as