choose to either express or suppress their concealable stigma when that stigma is somewhat known by the interaction partner. Future directions Researchers have called for future studies to focus on invisible stigma in groups, the timing and trust involved in revealing, and the potential for organizational change as a result of revealing strategies. Researchers should examine how individuals possessing invisible stigmas affect the performance of a group. Additionally, researchers may examine how a group's effectiveness in responding to a disclosure of an invisible stigma could positively or negatively affect future group outcomes. Furthermore, researchers have yet to determine how the timing of disclosure affects the disclosure interaction. Some studies suggest that disclosing later in the interaction leads to the most benefit. When individuals disclose too early in an interaction, they cause their interaction partners to feel uncomfortable, and the partners may feel as though they must also disclose private information. When individuals discloses too late in an interaction, they may hurt the interaction because they will be seen as dishonest and not trusting of the relationship to have revealed earlier on in the interaction (Quinn, 2006). Lastly, there is an opportunity for researchers to study how organizations can change when employees decide to reveal vs. conceal their invisible stigmas. When employees with invisible stigmas choose to conceal their stigma, it could lead to continued institutionalized stigmatization of those social characteristics. On the other hand, when employees choose to disclose, the level of acceptance of their disclosure can have far-reaching consequences for the climate and environment of organizations. Disclosure interactions that are met with positivity and acceptance could lead future employees to feel open and free to express their potentially stigmatized characteristics with less fear of judgment. See also Alter ego Americans with Disabilities Act Beard (companion) Closet Jew Closeted Coping (psychology) Defense mechanism Discrimination Workplace diversity Dramaturgy (sociology) He never married Impression management Job satisfaction Masking (personality) Medieval singlewomen Minority stress Model minority Normalization Organizational commitment Passing Prejudice Self-monitoring Social isolation Social stigma Stereotype Turnover (employment) References Further reading Social stigma