Affordance Management and Stereotypes About Schizophrenia, Sex, and Age

Schizophrenia is among the most stigmatized of all mental disorders. According to affordance management theory, this stigmatization is explained by the stereotype that people with schizophrenia threaten the fundamental goal to maintain physical safety. The current research examined if stereotypes about sex and age affect perceptions of the physical threat associated with schizophrenia. Study 1 (N = 179) examined variations in perceived threat to physical safety based on sex, age, and schizophrenia diagnosis. Perceptions of threat were higher for people with schizophrenia who were male and young. Study 2 (N = 171) showed that people perceived men with schizophrenia as more threatening than women with schizophrenia. Studies 3a (N = 221) and 3b (N = 209) examined perceptions of young and elderly people with schizophrenia and showed that stereotypical threat was elevated for young versus elderly men and women with schizophrenia. Studies 4a (N = 379) and 4b (N = 413) experimentally manipulated sex, age, and schizophrenia diagnosis in fictional scenarios. The presence of schizophrenia consistently increased perceived threat, fear, and attention, but sex and age had no significant effects. Overall, the results of the studies supported affordance management theory predictions about schizophrenia stereotypes and perceived threats to physical safety goals. Although the effects of sex and age stereotypes were less consistent, evidence also emerged that people perceive schizophrenia as more threatening when diagnosed in men and young people.