PhD defence Martin Sona

Keywords: HIV stigma, Blame, Protective fairness, Empathy

"When Norms Exclude; When Narratives Connect Empathy and HIV Stigma across Brain and Behavior"

This thesis asks where HIV stigma shows up when people do not openly express prejudice. Across brain imaging, an online ball game, and responses to HIV-related stories, it shows that stigma can be found in small social choices: whether someone is seen as “like me,” whether they are included when fairness calls for it, and whether people stay engaged with their story. Blame mattered. When a person with HIV was described as more responsible for acquiring HIV, observers kept more distance in self-other judgments and showed different brain responses while watching him being excluded. In the ball game, the strongest HIV-related pattern was protective fairness: low-blame or more accepting participants were especially careful not to skip the HIV-labeled player when he was due to be included. The thesis suggests that reducing stigma means addressing not just knowledge about HIV, but blame, attention, and everyday acts of inclusion.

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