Numbing the perception of stigma: system justification decreases psychological distress by reducing perceived stigma among gay men and lesbians <i>(Adormeciendo la percepcion del estigma: la justificacion del sistema disminuye el malestar psicologico mediante la reduccion del estigma percibido entre gays y lesbianas)</i>
No Thumbnail Available
Date
2020
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Abstract
System justification theory posits that perceiving society as fair and legitimate provides palliative benefits to people who endorse such beliefs. Despite mixed evidence among socially disadvantaged groups, recent evidence shows that members of disadvantaged groups minimize perceptions of discrimination in order to reap palliative benefits. We tested this hypothesis in a sample of gay men and lesbians in Chile (N = 467). Specifically, we examined the effects of system justification on psychological distress, and the mediating role of perceived sexual stigma. As expected, system justification was negatively associated with psychological distress via minimizing perceptions of sexual stigma towards the in-group. Our study replicates previous results, and unveils a soporific mechanism of system-justifying beliefs: that of providing palliative benefits to sexual minorities' well-being by minimizing perceptions of their in-group as target of sexual stigma. Considerations for the well-being and status of sexual minorities and their unwitting compliance with heteronormativity are further discussed.
Description
Keywords
system justification, well-being, perceived stigma, palliative effects, gay men and lesbians