Attributional ambiguity in stigmatized groups produces chronic psychological distress.

Evidence

Members of disadvantaged groups are often placed in a dilemma concerning how to interpret an unwanted result. For instance, a woman who has just received a rejection letter after applying for job may wonder whether this can be a case of gender discrimination. On the other hand, she would also need to know, for the purpose of adjustments, whether or not the true reason of the failure had anything to do with her personal attributes such as her lack of abilities or having taken the wrong strategy. This “attributional ambiguity” can be a major source of psychological distress among members of a stigmatized group, including lowered self-esteem, pessimism, and reactions from others as hypersensitive (Major & Crocker, 1993). — Roderick M. Kramer, Geoffrey J. Leonardelli, Robert W. Livingston, Social Cognition, Social Identity, and…, 126

Categorization

• XREF: Corroborates and extends the Allport-thread claims about how prejudice inflicts measurable psychological harm on targets, not just the perpetrators’ cognitive distortion.
• corroborated: 3 independent passages support this claim — Roderick M. Kramer, Geoffrey J. Leonardelli, Robert W. Livingston, Social Cognition, Social Identity, and…, 126