Which of These Things Are Not Like the Others? Comparing the Rational, Emotional, and Moral Aspects of Reputation, Status, Celebrity, and Stigma

In this review of the literature on reputation, status, celebrity, and stigma we develop an overarching theoretical framework based on the rational, emotional, and moral aspects of each construct’s unique sociocognitive content and the mechanisms through which it affects audience evaluations. We use this framework to assess the construct definitions and empirical measures used in existing research and offer our assessments of how well they reflect each construct’s sociocognitive content, distinguish the constructs from other constructs, and distinguish the constructs from their antecedents and consequences. We then articulate the implications of our framework and analyses for future research.