Document Type
Thesis
Date of Degree Completion
Winter 2020
Degree Name
Master of Science (MS)
Department
Experimental Psychology
Committee Chair
Kara Gabriel
Second Committee Member
Sara Bender
Third Committee Member
Mary Radeke
Fourth Committee Member
Susan Lonborg
Abstract
The current study investigated if increasing empathy would decrease stigma toward populations with illness. One hundred and seventy-nine participants were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: 1) sexually transmitted infections (STIs), 2) mental illness, or 3) cancer. Participants were primed with either a high-empathy prompt or low-empathy prompt. After reading the prompt, participants read a vignette detailing the experience of being diagnosed with the illness in their condition. Participants then responded to three stigma measures to assess their stigmatizing attitudes toward the person in the vignette with the illness. To test the experimental hypothesis, a multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA) was conducted using the empathy prime (high-empathy versus low-empathy) and the type of illness presented in the vignette (mental illness, STI, cancer) as independent variables. Self-reported empathy score was a significant covariate on the combined stigmatization measures. The empathy prime did not have a significant effect on either self-reported empathy or stigmatization. Type of illness did have an effect on the stigma measures, with cancer having the lowest stigmatization scores. These findings indicate that mental illness and STIs are stigmatized more than cancer and that empathy impacts stigmatization of those with such illnesses.
Recommended Citation
Hill, Karlie, "Effects of Illness Type and Empathy Induction On Illness-Related Stigma in Undergraduate Students" (2020). All Master's Theses. 1342.
https://digitalcommons.cwu.edu/etd/1342
Language
English