Social stigma and self-esteem: Situational construction of self-worth

Many classic analyses of stigmatization assume that negative images and stereotypes are internalized, resulting in stable low self-esteem in the stigmatized across many situations. I argue here that the self-esteem of the stigmatized is constructed in the situation and depends on both the collective representations, or shared meanings, that people bring with them to the situation and features of the situation that make those collective representations relevant or irrelevant when evaluating the self. Thus, self-esteem in the stigmatized may be higher, lower, or the same as self-esteem in the nonstigmatized, and it may change from situation to situation if the collective representations that are relevant in those situations differ. Previous research consistent with this perspective is reviewed and implications of this analysis for the study of social stigma, and group differences more generally, are considered, (C) 1999 Academic Press.