Date of Submission

Spring 2024

Academic Program

Psychology

Project Advisor 1

Thomas Hutcheon

Project Advisor 2

Elena Kim

Abstract/Artist's Statement

Tobacco smoking has been on a steady decline, especially among adolescents, since the early 1980s, a feat which can be attributed to research on the negative effects of tobacco but more importantly, denormalizing smoking. The main and arguably most influential method that caused such a large cultural shift can be attributed to the use of guilt and stigma in smoking cessation methods. Research on stigmatizing as it relates to healthcare and smoking has highlighted that while rates of smoking tobacco products have declined in recent decades, the use of stigma is doing more harm for individuals who smoke cigarettes (IWS). It makes them less likely to quit and for those who are also part of marginalized communities – pushes them further towards social isolation (Antin et al., 2017). Research in the study of smoking and smoking interventions have looked at the effects of guilt and stigma but have rarely looked at the complex interplay between the two modes. Animosity, characterized by intense hostility and resentment, can be a powerful force in shaping attitudes towards IWS. Portraying IWS as social pariahs fuels animosity and increases the divide between the two groups of people, fostering an environment of contempt, disdain, and exclusion. The goal of this study is to understand if animosity induction can affect people’s stigma towards individuals who smoke and whether this effect is moderated by the race of the smoker. After being shown two images, one an anti-smoking image intended to elicit animosity and a control, participants were then given two vignettes of women who smoke, one depicting a black individual and one depicting a white individual. They were then asked to respond to an adapted smoking stigmatizing questionnaire. It is hypothesized that animosity will increase the levels of stigma towards IWS, with higher levels of stigma towards the smoker in the black condition.

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