Experiment Among Smokers in Which Two Variables Are Manipulated: Ostracism and Concealability

Overview

The goal of this experimental study is to learn about the effects of ostracism and concealment among adult smokers. The main aims are: 1. Determine the causal consequences of gendered stigmatization. Specifically, do women react more strongly than men to exclusion (as opposed to inclusion) especially when their gender is revealed (as opposed to concealed) for outcomes such as smoking stigma, stress, cognitive depletion, smoking attitudes, and smoking cessation intentions (Study 3)? 2. Examine the moderating roles of cultural context. Specifically, contrasting the cultural context in the US and Denmark (where gender norms are more egalitarian) do Danish smokers show fewer gender differences than US smokers in how they describe and react to their smoking stigmatization experiences (Study 1, 2, and 3)?

The proposed studies examine cross-culturally the reasons why among smokers, women feel more stigmatized than men do. An experiment with US and Danish smokers will examine how men and women differ in their reactions to being stigmatized (using a standard exclusion manipulation) when their gender is revealed instead of concealed. The outcome measures will include stress, smoking stigma, cognitive depletion, smoking attitudes, and smoking cessation intentions.

Conditions