Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 30, 2025
09:03
Post-Movie Subliminal Measurement PMSM, for Investigating Implicit Social Bias
Published on: February 29, 2020
5.7K
Sexual Orientation Disclosure and Strategic Navigation of Interpersonal Invisibility
Emily Schwartzman1, Rebecca Neel1
1University of Toronto, ON, Canada.
Personality & Social Psychology Bulletin
|January 25, 2025
Summary
People with concealable stigmatized identities strategically manage their visibility. This study shows that concealing an identity and seeking invisibility are distinct, impacting emotions differently for lesbian, gay, and bisexual individuals.
Area of Science:
- Social Psychology
- Identity Studies
- Stigma Research
Background:
- Individuals with concealable stigmatized identities often navigate social interactions by managing identity cues.
- Strategic self-disclosure or concealment of identity is common, as is the pursuit or avoidance of interpersonal invisibility.
Purpose of the Study:
- To empirically investigate the conceptual distinction between identity concealment and interpersonal invisibility.
- To determine if these two strategies (concealment and invisibility) can operate independently.
- To examine the emotional consequences of these independent strategies.
Main Methods:
- Study 1: Collected free-response descriptions from lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) individuals about situations involving identity revelation/concealment and visibility/invisibility.
- Study 2: Engaged LGB participants in imagined social interactions, varying identity revelation/concealment and visibility/invisibility, and assessed expected emotions.
Main Results:
- Findings indicate that identity concealment and the pursuit of invisibility are empirically distinct.
- The independent use of concealment and invisibility strategies has differential effects on emotional experiences.
- Lesbian, gay, and bisexual individuals strategically employ identity disclosure and concealment to manage interpersonal invisibility.
Conclusions:
- Identity concealment and interpersonal invisibility are separable constructs with independent psychological implications.
- Understanding the interplay between concealment and invisibility is crucial for comprehending the social navigation of stigmatized identities.
- This research highlights the nuanced strategies LGB individuals use to manage their social presence and emotional well-being.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
03:00Self-Evaluation: Self-Enhancement and Self-Verification
5.2K
Social psychologists have documented that feeling good about ourselves and maintaining positive self-esteem is a powerful motivator of human behavior (Tavris & Aronson, 2008). In the United States, members of the predominant culture typically think very highly of themselves and view themselves as good people who are above average on many desirable traits (Ehrlinger, Gilovich, & Ross, 2005). Often, our behavior, attitudes, and beliefs are affected when we experience a threat to our...
5.2K
02:12Relationship Formation
39.7K
What do you think is the single most influential factor in determining with whom you become friends and whom you form romantic relationships? You might be surprised to learn that the answer is simple: the people with whom you have the most contact. This most important factor is proximity. You are more likely to be friends with people you have regular contact with. For example, there are decades of research that shows that you are more likely to become friends with people who live in your dorm,...
39.7K
01:27Ethnic Identity within a Larger Culture
29
Adolescents from ethnic minority backgrounds face a multifaceted journey in forming their identities, shaped by the intersections of cultural expectations and personal exploration. For these adolescents, identity formation involves not only typical developmental challenges but also navigating the perceptions and attitudes of the majority culture. As they grow, adolescents in ethnic minority groups often become increasingly aware of stereotypes, social biases, and discrimination, all of which...
29
01:26Marcia's Theory of Identity Status
83
James Marcia's identity status model provides a framework for understanding how adolescents navigate identity formation through varying degrees of exploration and commitment. Marcia's model builds on Erik Erikson's theories of psychosocial development, focusing specifically on how adolescents reconcile individual aspirations with societal expectations. His model describes identity formation as a dynamic process where adolescents move between different states depending on their level...
83
01:31In- and Out-Groups
38.8K
People all belong to a gender, race, age, and social economic group. These groups provide a powerful source of our identity and self-esteem (Tajfel & Turner, 1979) and serve as our in-groups. An in-group is a group that we identify with or see ourselves as belonging to.
38.8K
01:27Horney's Sociocultural Approach
430
Karen Horney's psychoanalytic theories emphasize the potential for self-realization and the importance of addressing social and cultural, rather than biological, factors in personality development. She challenged traditional Freudian views, particularly Freud's concept of "penis envy," which she argued stemmed from cultural influences rather than inherent biological differences. Horney believed that any sense of inferiority in women was a result of societal conditioning, such as...
430