6th Annual Judith Ramaley Celebration of Research and Creative Scholarship
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Poster #9 Diagnostic Labels, Ascribed Humanity, and Perceived Dangerousness Allison Becker Faculty Mentor: April Kerby The stigma of diagnostic labels is well known within the psychological community; those with mental illnesses are often viewed under the lens of their label and experience discrimination because of it. In an effort to understand the mechanisms underlying this stigmatization, previous research investigated how different labels influence perceptions of humanity. By varying the illness type, either physical or mental, and it’s specificity, with subtypes of specific (i.e. bipolar disorder) or general (i.e. mental illness), it was found that those with general mental illness labels were ascribed less humanity than those with general physical illnesses. However, when the mental illness label was specific, more humanity was ascribed to them than to those with specific physical illnesses. The current study sought to replicate and further this research, by altering the design to allow for a direct examination of the interaction between label specificity and label type. Preliminary results support this interaction, indicating that when given a specific mental illness diagnosis, ascribed humanity increases. |
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