Objective self-awareness and stigma: implications for persons with visible disabilities

Journal of Rehabilitation, April-June, 2004 by Andrew A. Phemister, Nancy M. Crewe

On the other hand, the theory asserted that when a person is objectively self-aware, then he or she has become acutely aware of those personal characteristics that most distinguish him or her from the majority. The occurrence of OSA can be understood in three ways. First, as indicated, the term "objective" specifies where attention is directed. That is, in a state of OSA, the person's attention is focused exclusively on the self; the person is the "object" of his or her own attention, and is now seeing himself (sic) as he thinks others are seeing him. It is this self-focused attention that induces an acute state of objective self-awareness. Second, induced OSA was theorized to automatically elicit comparisons between the self and perceived standards for social correctness in terms of specific behaviors, attitudes, traits, etc. Such standards of correctness were said to determine who or what a "correct" person is. For instance, a t-shirt and cutoffs typically are not considered appropriate attire for a job interview, and the person wearing them will draw much attention. Finally, if discrepancies are detected between a person and one or more standards, then negative affect was theorized to surface and, in order to reduce the negative affect, the person would either conform as best he or she could or avoid the situation altogether. Another consequence of this is that the person may also avoid other similar situations in which they feel objectively self-aware (e.g., formal gatherings).

Additionally, whether a person is objectively or subjectively self-aware, OSA theory contends that whatever is the focus of attention in any given situation will draw causal attributions (i.e., responsibility). It has been demonstrated that objectively self-aware persons are more likely to attribute the source of an event to themselves (Duval & Lalwani, 1999; Lalwani & Duval, 2000; Duval, 1971). According to the theory, attributing cause to oneself will occur because the objectively self-aware person is experiencing him or herself as somehow different and exhibiting salient characteristics that distinguish them from the majority. What this implies is that when a person with a visible disability (e.g., using a wheelchair or a having facial deformity) enters into a situation where he or she is the only one with such a characteristic then they will likely become objectively self-aware and focus attention on that characteristic. They will perceive themselves as they think others perceive them.

More recently however, new research has initiated fundamental changes to Duval and Wicklund's theory. One major change relevant to persons with visible disabilities emerged from controlled experiments on an individual's perceived rate of progress relative to the perceived discrepancy size. Duval, Duval, & Mulilis (1992) conducted three experiments using male Introduction to Psychology students. At one point, the participants were asked to meet an experimental standard by determining which of five two-dimensional figures when folded would match a three-dimensional figure previously displayed. It was discovered that when the participants were high in OSA and perceived sufficient progress toward reducing the discrepancy (i.e., meeting the experimental standard), they maintained involvement and effort. However, when participants high in OSA perceived insufficient progress to reduce the discrepancy then they would relax their efforts and avoid involvement.