A functional affordance-management approach to stigma-by-association: Does stigma transfer depend on type of stigma?

A functional affordance-management approach to stigma-by-association: Does stigma transfer depend on type of stigma? Jarrod Bock, Jaimie Arona Krems. Human Behavior and Evolution Society 31st annual meeting. Boston 2019. http://tiny.cc/aa1w6y

Abstract: Social psychological descriptions of stigma-by-association suggest that, because we devalue and/or dislike stigmatized people, we will devalue and/or dislike their traditionally non-stigmatized associates. However, functional approaches to stigma imply that people hold qualitatively distinct prejudices—rather than generalized devaluation or dislike—which are underlain by the qualitatively distinct threats that stigmatized people are perceived to afford. For example, whereas we might equally stigmatize them, we may perceive Black men as threats to physical safety and religious fundamentalists as threats to freedoms. We ask: If different stigmas represent different, specific threats, (1) which stigmas are transferred and (2) do all stigmas transfer equally? Across three experiments, participants read one of several vignettes describing an average White male (Brad), Brad and a similar friend (control), or Brad and a stigmatized friend (e.g., African-American male, religious fundamentalist), reporting the extent to which Brad—and/or his friend—evoked various threats and affective reactions. We investigated the prediction that, whereas, (1) the generalized stigma might be transferred to Brad when he has a stigmatized friend, (2) the specific stigmas transferred to Brad—and their affective reactions (e.g., fear, anger)—will vary as a function of the specific threat Brad’s friend is perceived to afford.