Stigmatization, Tolerance and Repair An Integrative Psychological Analysis of Responses to Deviance

Society is faced with a variety of undesirable behaviours and conditions such as crime, mental and physical illnesses and disabilities, that usually provoke different responses in people such as emotions of anger, fear or pity. In our evolutionary past, these emotions adaptively motivated the repair of interpersonal relationships, whereas more recently they may also result in other types of social control such as stigmatization or tolerance. Dijker and Koomen show, on the basis of elementary psychological processes, how peoples’ responses are not only dependent on type of deviance but also on personality, situation, historical period and culture. They also examine the implications of these responses for the well-being and coping of people with deviant conditions or stigmas. This book provides conceptual tools for developing interventions to reduce stigmatization and offers a deeper understanding of the psychological basis of social control as well as opportunities to influence its potentially harmful consequences.

1. Introduction; 2. Evolutionary origins of social responses to deviance; 3. Mental representations of deviance and their emotional and judgmental implications; 4. Meeting individuals with deviant conditions: understanding the role of automatic and controlled psychological processes; 5. Individual differences in responding to deviance; 6. Variations in social control across societies, cultures, and historical periods; 7. A focus on persons with a deviant condition I: their social world, coping and behavior; 8. A focus on persons with a deviant condition II: socio-economic status, self-esteem and well-being; 9. Theorizing about interventions to prevent or reduce stigmatization.

Dijker and Koomen examine how peoples' responses to deviant conditions such as crime, illness and disability are dependent on types of deviance, personality, situation and culture. Will appeal to academics and graduates in social and health psychology as well as professionals in the health and social services.

Anton J. M. Dijker is a social psychologist and works for the Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences in the Department of Health Education and Promotion at the University of Maastricht.
Willem Koomen is a social psychologist and works for the Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences in the Department of Social Psychology at the University of Amsterdam.