Devaluation and Revaluation as Dynamic Social Processes: The Case of Psychedelic Stigma.

Stigma, a form of social devaluation that elicits shame and othering, can also undergo positive revision over time. This paper introduces 'revaluation' as the process by which previously derogated social objects are positively re-evaluated, drawing on 'stigma mutation' theory and assemblage theories to explain how stigma changes across lineages, groups, and intensities. A case study of psychedelic drug stigma shows that, while it remains embedded in illegal drug stigma, it is undergoing revaluation due to Western biomedicine's interest in psychedelics as therapeutics. Devaluation and revaluation can occur simultaneously through complex local and global connections.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Stigma is a form of social devaluation, eliciting shame, disgust and othering. Most theorisation of stigma has focused on devaluation and stigmatisation; this paper identifies and expands on the concept of 'revaluation', defined as the positive revision of previously derogated social objects as part of ongoing stigma trajectories. To do so, we draw on 'stigma mutation' theory, which highlights three dynamic dimensions of stigma change over time: the lineage or history of the stigma, its variation in diverse groups and contexts and its intensity or strength. We further draw on assemblage theories to explain the dynamism of stigma trajectories where both established and novel connections occur globally and locally beyond traditional group or identity boundaries. To illustrate the processes of revaluation, we present a case study of psychedelic drug stigma, analysing academic texts and media articles. Although psychedelic stigma has embedded lineage within existing illegal drug stigma, it is undergoing social revaluation due to other drivers, such as Western biomedicine's recent interest in psychedelics as therapeutics. It is important to consider the dynamism of devaluation and revaluation processes within stigma trajectories; these may occur simultaneously, in complex ways, as the result of multiple connections in both local and global worlds.