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Biomedical subjects

D E Frable

Publications and source records attributed to D E Frable.

6 recordsLinked to original sources

Concealable stigmas and positive self-perceptions: feeling better around similar others.

In an 11-day experience-sampling study, 86 Harvard undergraduates rated their momentary self-esteem and affect and then described the who, what, and where of their daily lives. Those with concealable stigmas (students who indicated that they were gay, that they were bulimic, or that their family earned less than $20,000 each year) reported lower self-esteem and more negative affect than both those whose stigmas were visible and those without stigmatizing characteristics. Only the presence of similar others lifted the self-esteem and mood of students with concealable stigmas, and these particular students were the least likely to experience such occasions. Thus, contact with similar others protects the psychological self from negative cultural messages.

Analysis of Variance↗

Predicting self-esteem, well-being, and distress in a cohort of gay men: the importance of cultural stigma, personal visibility, community networks, and positive identity.

Homosexual and bisexual men (N = 825) enrolled in the Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study in Chicago completed a 90-minute self-administered questionnaire that included the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, a Well-Being Index, and the Hopkins Symptom Checklist. Participants indicated their experiences with gay stigma, their visibility as gay men, their involvement in the gay community, and their commitment to a positive gay identity. Data from this predominantly white, young, educated, and middle-class cohort are consistent with a structural model in which cultural stigma is negatively associated with positive self-perceptions. This within-group result contrasts sharply with between-group results that indicate our gay cohort was neither particularly low in global self-esteem nor high in psychological distress when compared to nonstigmatized samples.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

Gender, racial, ethnic, sexual, and class identities.

Identity is the individual's psychological relationship to particular social category systems. This chapter summarizes how people create and negotiate their gender, racial, ethnic, sexual, and class identities. Theories, methods, and priorities in each of these content areas differ. However, each systematically excludes particular research participants and thus ignores the complexity of people's multiple social identities. Research suggests that gender, racial, ethnic, sexual, and class identities are fluid, multidimensional, personalized social constructions that reflect the individual's current context and sociohistorical cohort. However, far too little empirical work captures the richly textured, theoretical conceptions of identity development, maintenance, and change. Innovative methods for assessing the content and structure of people's identities now exist. Future research should include groups other than young children or college students; should explore functions of identity other than just self-esteem, adjustment, or well-being; and should implement methodologies that are longitudinal and that assess people's many social identities.

Ethnicity↗

Being and feeling unique: statistical deviance and psychological marginality.

Two studies tested the hypothesis that people with culturally stigmatized and concealable conditions (e.g., gays, epileptics, juvenile delinquents, and incest victims) would be more likely to feel unique than people with culturally valued or conspicuous conditions (e.g., the physically attractive, the intellectually gifted, the obese, and the facially scarred). In Study 1, culturally stigmatized individuals with concealable conditions were least likely to perceive consensus between their personal preferences and those of others. In Study 2, they were most likely to describe themselves as unique and to make these self-relevant decisions quickly. Marginality is a psychological reality, not just a statistical one, for those with stigmatized and concealable "master status" conditions.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

Marginal and mindful: deviants in social interactions.

Master status people's behavior, physical appearance, or life circumstance is statistically unusual and centrally defining (e.g., the physically attractive, the obese, the intellectually gifted, the facially scarred, the talented, the athletic, Blacks, gays, the wealthy, rape and incest victims). These individuals were paired with people without such conditions. Each pair was left alone on a pretext and covertly videotaped. Pairs were then separated; each member spontaneously recalled information about her partner and the experimental room and provided a record of her thoughts and feelings during the interaction. As hypothesized, all master status Ss were particularly likely to be mindful in social interactions; they recalled detailed information about the situation and often took their partner's perspective during the interaction. The positive or negative connotations of the master status conditions were irrelevant in predicting Ss cognitions (mindfulness) but were critical in determining Ss behaviors (interaction strategies).

Acne Vulgaris↗

Sex typing and gender ideology: two facets of the individual's gender psychology that go together.

Three studies tested the hypothesis that gendered personality dispositions are related to gender attitudes and gender discriminatory behaviors. In Study 1, sex-typed individuals were more likely than androgynous, undifferentiated, and cross-sex-typed individuals to accept gender rules designating culturally appropriate behavior for men and women. In Study 2, sex-typed individuals were particularly likely to pay attention spontaneously to the sex of job applicants and then to devalue the interview performances of women. In Study 3, only sex-typed men tended to endorse sexist language. As expected, sex typing and gender ideology go together. This relation between two facets of the individual's gender psychology indicates that some sex role inventories may tap more than expressivity and instrumentality.

Attitude↗