Negative evaluations and discrimination against smokers

Abstract

The present study examined the negative evaluations and discrimination against smokers among the Japanese. In Study 1, 52 students rated one of four target-persons differentially depicted in terms of gender and smoking habit using scales to measure coolness, sociability, intellectuality, and earnestness. The results showed that participants rated smokers more negatively than nonsmokers except for sociability. Those who perceived smoking as controllable rated smokers’ earnestness even more negatively, suggesting that the negative evaluations are partially moderated by the perceived controllability of smoking. To examine a hypothesis that negative evaluations of smokers would mediate discrimination, in Study 2 we measured how participants (96 students) responded to target persons asking for a loan or a job, as well as their ratings of the targets on the Big Five personality dimensions. The results support the hypothesis of mediation.