Extending Weiner's Attribution-Emotion Model of Stigmatization of Ill Persons

In Weiner's attribution-emotion model of stigmatization (Weiner, 1996; Weiner, Perry, & Magnussen, 1988), pity and anger reactions to ill or handicapped individuals are primarily determined by beliefs about personal responsibility for the onset of their condition. This article argues that b...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Basic and applied social psychology 2003-02, Vol.25 (1), p.51-68
Main Authors: Dijker, Anton J., Koomen, Willem
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Attributions
Biological and medical sciences
Emotions
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Miscellaneous
Psychology
Psychology and medicine
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychology. Psychophysiology
Sick people
Stigmatization
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Summary:In Weiner's attribution-emotion model of stigmatization (Weiner, 1996; Weiner, Perry, & Magnussen, 1988), pity and anger reactions to ill or handicapped individuals are primarily determined by beliefs about personal responsibility for the onset of their condition. This article argues that both pity and anger are also caused by valence of behavioral cause and pity by seriousness of illness and that anxiety is an additional emotional consequence of these perceptions. The results of 3 experiments support this extension of Weiner's model. In Experiment 1, the original Weiner et al. (1988) study was exactly replicated and supplemented with measures of behavioral valence and seriousness and of anxiety. In Experiment 2, seriousness of disease, valence of behavioral cause, and personal responsibility were independently manipulated. Experiment 3 cross-validated the main results for another illness and operationalization of behavioral valence. Theoretical and practical implications of the extended model of stigmatization are discussed.
ISSN:0197-3533
1532-4834
DOI:10.1207/S15324834BASP2501_4