stigma

Meaning: In Erving Goffman's sense, a stigma is an attribute that is deeply discrediting in a particular social setting. It changes how others see a person, from a whole, ordinary person to a tainted, lesser one. Goffman described three broad kinds: physical differences, perceived flaws of character (such as addiction or a mental illness history), and group identities such as race, nation or religion. A person whose stigma is visible or known is discredited. A person whose stigma is hidden is discreditable and must manage information about it. People close to a stigmatized person can be stigmatized by association.

On the MCAT: A passage describes a devalued group, such as people with a mental illness, and asks you to name the concept, predict a result (for example, avoiding care or concealing the condition), or tell stigma apart from related terms. Stigma also connects to labeling theory, where a label can lead a person to take on a deviant identity, and to self-stigma, when the person internalizes the label.

Common confusion: Students treat stigma as a property of the person. It is a relationship between an attribute and social expectations, so the same trait may be stigmatized in one culture or era and not in another. Stigma is also not the same as prejudice (an attitude) or discrimination (a behavior). Those often follow from stigma.