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RATIONALE
Previous work in the field of visible differences has suggested the importance of hostility as an
aspect of psycho-social adjustment (Moss, 1997), and the inclusion of the hostility measure in
the pack of tests in the main study was based on this. Initial analysis of data from the crosssectional
study confirmed potentially important relationships between adjustment to visible
difference/disfigurement and feelings of hostility. The scientific literature on the relationship
between feelings of hostility and people with difference in appearance is under-researched. Due
to our initial findings and the lack of research in this area it was considered appropriate to
attempt to investigate this relationship further.
INTRODUCTION
An examination of the recent psychological literature investigating appearance concern and
hostility has presented a number of relevant psychological constructs that may be related to
aggression/hostility in people with difference in their appearance.
In summary, aggression is a likely outcome in people high in narcissism who are faced with
threatening or challenging feedback in social situations (Kernis, Grannemann and Barclay,
1989). As narcissism is often related to, but not identical to, high self esteem alone, it is not
sufficient for hostility to be demonstrated; it is also necessary to have a poor or low “other”
esteem. According to this formulation, a feeling or sense of superiority could be a precursor to
aggression or hostile behaviour (Baumeister, 1996). It is not yet clear the extent to which this is
stable across all situations or whether it is only specific situations which might elicit hostile
responses in people with a visibly different appearance (e.g. situations in which appearance is
highlighted). Perceived social ranking (Gilbert et al, 2007) may also be important in this
relationship. From this perspective, aggression and hostility may serve to protect a person’s
perceived position in a social ranking system when this is under threat.
It may be the case that narcissism and superiority are defence mechanisms functioning to
protect a more hidden, core view of the self as weak, vulnerable, or damaged. Aggression and
hostility are the manifestation of these defences in the face of threat to the self through
challenges present in the environment (Moss, 1997). It is not difficult to see how this might
occur in people with appearance concerns when in a situation in which appearance becomes
highly salient. In order to investigate these possibilities the following study investigated reactions
of people with differences in appearance to hypothetical situations measuring concepts such as
self-esteem, adjustment to disfigurement and hostility.
METHOD
Participants
Thirty-eight out of 146 potential participants completed the survey (a 26% response rate).
Twenty-five email invitations were rejected, because email addresses were not recognised,
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