As your textbook points out, people with intellectual disabilities have been labeled with many names throughout history, including moron, imbecile, idiot, and mentally retarded. What is the important lesson from this fact?

a. People have a real lack of sensitivity that underlies the initial use of these terms.
b. We have not come very far in the diagnosis of cognitive deficits.
c. Labels that start out in a neutral way and are meant simply to describe something can pick up a negative and hurtful stigma.
d. Psychopathology should be assessed in terms of severity of problems rather than just determining whether a person does or does not have an issue.

Answer: c. Labels that start out in a neutral way and are meant simply to describe something can pick up a negative and hurtful stigma.