The importance of embedding diversity science frameworks in affective science: Illustrations from research on identity-based stigma.

Both affective experience and affect regulation can be influenced by various social, historical, political, and economic systems and structures. These contingent and particularized influences arise in part through the shaping of how people and communities construct, navigate, and are affected by personal and collective identities, inter-group relations, and social hierarchies. In this commentary, we argue that greater integration of affective science and diversity science —“the study of the interpretation and construction of human differences” — would enhance the field’s understanding of a wide variety of consequential affective phenomena. Throughout, we illustrate this premise by drawing primarily on examples of research on affective consequences of, and affect regulation in the context of, identity-based stigma. We highlight several implications for methods, measurement, and inference.