The effect of religious and sexual stigmas on programmers and trust in their work product

Research on stigmatized individuals is widespread; however, there are only a few studies on how stigma affects trust in a stigmatized person's work product. In two experiments, participants evaluate a target individual who is described as either Christian/Jewish/Muslim/Atheist-Agnostic or either heterosexual/homosexual/bisexual. Participants are asked to rate how they feel about a target and how trustworthy they feel the target individual's work product is. All religions and sexual orientations except Christian or Jewish heterosexuals are rated less positively and their work products are rated as less trustworthy compared to a neutral control. Results also show that affect plays a strong mediating role in the relationship between stigmatized conditions and trust in work product.

► This study investigates how stigmas affect one's trust in a stigmatized person's work product.
► A target individual was identified as either Christian/Jewish/Muslim/Atheist-Agnostic and either heterosexual/homosexual/bisexual.
► Affect plays a strong mediating role in the relationship between the stigmatized condition and trust in the work product.