The influence of social stigmas on observers’ eye movements

Some social stigmas (facial scars, tattoos) have clear visual cues and eye tracking has shownthat such social stigmas influence the eye movements of other people. Other social stigmas (e.g., a mental illness or a criminal record) often lack clear visible cues. The present studyinvestigates whether providing information about such stigmas draws eye movements ofobservers to the people involved. Participants were presented with video clips and advanceinformation about one of the actors that was either stigmatizing (related to mental health or acriminal past) or non-stigmatizing. The results show that eye movements towards the targetactor were not systematically affected by stigmatizing advance information and were notassociated with explicit attitudes from questionnaires. Results therefore suggest that stigmaswithout clear visual cues do not draw attention to or away from the person involved.