The model is elaborated by incorporating the personality attribute of "ambiguity tolerance" into its major assumptions. A central supposition of the model is that conflicting cognitive elements regarding deviation produce stress and the need for its reduction. The mechanisms for such tension reduction are often the redefinition and eventual reorganization of one's overall situation in terms of the more salient attribute of the deviation; i.e., the deviation becomes the overriding basis of social perceptions, role identity, associations, and behavior. Because those unable to tolerate ambiguity are more sensitive to the stresses of incongruent situations, they are more likely to perceive stereotypical imputations of deviance, to incorporate those imputations into their identity, to feel the need to validate their identity through association with others similarly labeled, and to react intensely to definitions that derive from such associations. 2 figures (Author abstract modified)