Capturing experienced invisibility among people with multiple stigmatized identities: The experienced invisibility scale protocol
- 1Department of Social Sciences, University of Washington Tacoma, Tacoma, Washington, United States of America.
- 2School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom.
- 3Department of Psychology, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas, United States of America.
Abstract
Invisibility is the experience of not being attended to, remembered, differentiated from others, or given credit for contributions. In the current registered report, we aim to validate the Experienced Invisibility Scale (EIS), a measure designed to capture experiences of invisibility, which are most likely to be experienced by people with multiple stigmatized identities. As proof of concept, we first present a pilot study testing the factor structure of the EIS, in which we found that: 1) a bifactor model (“unheard” and “unnoticed”) best represents the structure of experienced invisibility, but that calculating a total score is likely to be sufficient for most purposes, 2) the EIS is most likely to be experienced by those with multiple stigmatized identities, and 3) initial tests of convergent, discriminant, and predictive validity were supported. We then propose three studies to further validate the EIS and its links to social identities. Study 1 will distinguish the EIS from related constructs of social exclusion, objectification, rejection sensitivity, positive and negative affect, and other experiences of discrimination, test the temporal stability of the EIS, and examine relationships with well-being. Study 2 will examine whether the EIS predicts additional outcomes including health, low felt impact, perceived powerlessness, and denial of services or power. Study 3 will test hypotheses that Black women (compared to White women and Black and White men) will report experiencing more invisibility, and will show stronger relationships between invisibility and negative outcomes. We hope this work will aid scholars in better understanding invisibility as a form of discrimination.
Related
- Urban vegetation experienced less damage than rural vegetation during the 2022 compound hot–dry event in eastern China
- Caribbean Islands facilitated the colonization of Western Hemisphere barn owls, yet experienced rampant extinction.
- Neural oscillatory activity during guided and self-generated motor imagery: a comparative case study of a six-time World Cup skateboarder champion and an experienced recreational surfer.
- Describing the emotional change experienced by patients with chronic somatic diseases who took part in a supportive program with complementary therapies: a qualitative study
- UniProt data pruning and the growing invisibility of the dark proteome
BibTeX
@article{sesko2026capturing,
title = {{Capturing experienced invisibility among people with multiple stigmatized identities: The experienced invisibility scale protocol}},
author = {Amanda K Sesko and Alexandra N Fisher and Monica Biernat},
journal = {PLOS One},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0361028},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0361028},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Capturing experienced invisibility among people with multiple stigmatized identities: The experienced invisibility scale protocol
AU - Amanda K Sesko
AU - Alexandra N Fisher
AU - Monica Biernat
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/30
JO - PLOS One
DO - 10.1371/journal.pone.0361028
UR - https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0361028
AB - Invisibility is the experience of not being attended to, remembered, differentiated from others, or given credit for contributions. In the current registered report, we aim to validate the Experienced Invisibility Scale (EIS), a measure designed to capture experiences of invisibility, which are most likely to be experienced by people with multiple stigmatized identities. As proof of concept, we first present a pilot study testing the factor structure of the EIS, in which we found that: 1) a bifactor model (“unheard” and “unnoticed”) best represents the structure of experienced invisibility, but that calculating a total score is likely to be sufficient for most purposes, 2) the EIS is most likely to be experienced by those with multiple stigmatized identities, and 3) initial tests of convergent, discriminant, and predictive validity were supported. We then propose three studies to further validate the EIS and its links to social identities. Study 1 will distinguish the EIS from related constructs of social exclusion, objectification, rejection sensitivity, positive and negative affect, and other experiences of discrimination, test the temporal stability of the EIS, and examine relationships with well-being. Study 2 will examine whether the EIS predicts additional outcomes including health, low felt impact, perceived powerlessness, and denial of services or power. Study 3 will test hypotheses that Black women (compared to White women and Black and White men) will report experiencing more invisibility, and will show stronger relationships between invisibility and negative outcomes. We hope this work will aid scholars in better understanding invisibility as a form of discrimination.
SN - 1932-6203
ER -