Mode of target presentation in measuring the stigma of mental disorder

The social response to mentally disordered individuals has been assessed by exposing them in many different guises, ranging from giving subjects a written description to having them meet a mentally disordered person. The present study sought to determine if such differences affect the responses obtained. Independent groups of female students responded either to a mentally disordered or to a control woman presented at one of 5 levels of abstractness/concreteness. They rated the social acceptability and the expected degree of accomplishments of the target person. The mentally disordered person was described as less socially acceptable than the control at each of the 5 levels, but the psychiatric history did not affect expectations of how much she would accomplish. Level of abstractness/concreteness significantly influenced expectations of accomplishments at school and on the job. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.