The Impact of Infectious Disease Severity on Stigma Associated With Affected Regions: A Facial Representation...

Individuals from regions affected by infectious disease outbreaks may be stigmatized because others hold negative mental images-or mental representations-of them. This study investigated whether such outbreaks lead to the formation of negative mental representations of residents in affected areas and explored the role of disease severity in this process. Study 1 revealed that during the early stages of the COVID-19 epidemic, the public's mental representations of residents from Wuhan were perceived as less attractive than those of Chengdu residents and associated with disgust and behavioural avoidance. However, differences disappeared after the restrictions of the epidemic were lifted. The results indicate that the COVID-19 outbreak triggered stigmatization of residents in Wuhan. In Study 2, disease severity and perceived threat were manipulated, and results show that participants formed less attractive face representations of residents from areas where severe infectious diseases broke out than those from areas affected by mild infectious diseases. This proved that the severity of infectious diseases affected the extent of stigmatization towards residents in outbreak areas. These results further our understanding of the mechanisms and factors underlying stigmatization associated with affected regions and may inform effective public health strategies to mitigate stigma and support disease control efforts.