Personal Stigma Evaluation
Do You Hold Stigmatizing Attitudes?
To combat stigma, we all first need to consider any stigmatizing attitudes toward others that we might not even be aware of. Identifying stigmatizing beliefs requires a commitment to a process of honest self-examination in which we look at our assumptions and beliefs about other people and consider whether we have accepted, without question, common stereotypes about people different than ourselves.
Ask yourself whether you think about groups of people different than yourself in broad generalizations that have a negative connotation, or what you assume about one or more of those “types” of people without having enough factual information to be certain. Challenge yourself to consider where your beliefs about others came from, and whether they may reflect someone else’s negative beliefs or assumptions rather than an informed position. Look, too, at whether you use language that inadvertently casts a negative light on a group of people different than yourself. For example, maybe you use the word “crazy” or “mental” to characterize something out of the ordinary or extreme, without realizing that these words have been used to refer to people with psychological pain or dysfunction and may serve to perpetuate the stigma that they continue to face. Even the casual use of the words “those people” may signal unexamined perceptions of people who are different than you.
Below you can find links to online stigma screens/quizzes that may be a good starting point for your self-examination.
Stigma Quizzes
What’s Your Score on the Mental Illness Stigma Quiz?
Stigma Quiz – Pennsylvania Developmental Disabilities Council
The Harvard Project Implicit allows you to take one or more Implicit Association Tests, which are administered as part of a research study. The Implicit Association Test (IAT) measures attitudes and beliefs that people may be unwilling or unable to report. The IAT may be especially interesting if it shows that you have an implicit attitude that you did not know about. Note: The FDU Stigma Free Center has no connection to this study.