Attractiveness Stereotype, Severity of Illness, and Perceptions of a Child Target: Does Cancer Induce Unique Attributional Judgments?

Given that previous research provides conflicting evidence regarding perceptions of a target with cancer, the current study aimed to identify whether severity of this illness drives perceptions or if the diagnosis of cancer holds unique stereotypes in judgment. Two hundred ninety-four college students were presented with a stimulus paragraph about a 10-year-old female child who was described as being in good health or as suffering from one of three illness conditions: (a) a fictitious illness called Haltmar’s disease, described like a brain tumor; (b) a fictitious illness called Haltmar’s disease, described like cancer; or (c) the diagnosis of cancer. A photo of a 10-year-old girl manipulated to look healthy or unhealthy accompanied the materials. Thus, the study employed a 4 (illness) x 2 (child appearance) factorial ANOVA. Results indicated that favorability for the child target was not linearly influenced by severity of illness and a cancer stereotype was not observed. An attractiveness stereotype was not detected in the current findings and participants’ Just World Beliefs did not impact perceptions of the target. However, when the child was portrayed as sickly and unattractive, the illness label was influential on ratings of likability.