1. The study examined whether stigma exists towards people with disabilities and how attitudes are impacted by use of accommodations. Participants read a vignette about a college student with disabilities who either used accommodations or did not, and completed a survey measuring attitudes. 2. The study found no significant differences in attitudes based on vignette type, gender of participants, or their interaction. Interestingly, male attitudes declined more from the accommodation to non-accommodation vignette than females. 3. The study had limitations like a small sample size and could be improved in the future with a larger, more diverse sample and different measurement tools to better understand stigma surrounding disability.

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Wow, Your Attitude Stinks! A Study on Disability and Stigma
Tiffany Olszower
Tao12200@castleton.edu
Psy 3152 Psychology Research
Professors: Dr. Terry Bergen and Dr. Shannon Newell
December 8, 2015

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ABSTRACT
Is there a social stigma surrounding people with disabilities? I tested the relationship between a
vignette type with a college student with disabilities either using accommodations or not using
accommodations, attitude and sex of participants. Unfortunately, I did not find significance
between vignette type and attitude, or attitude and sex. Interestingly, I did find that males had a
drastic decline in negative attitude from the accommodation vignette to the non-accommodation
vignette while females had a very small increase in negative attitude from accommodation
vignette to non-accommodation vignette.

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INTRODUCTION
Much research has been conducted on social stigma of disabled people. Barg, Armstrong,
Hetz, and Latimer (2010) found that if a child with a physical disability is more active than
he/she will be viewed as more competent. Children with disabilities are also viewed as more
friendly and kind than children with no physical disabilities. Further research by Stuart, Patten,
Koller, Modgill, and Liimanaa (2014) found that over half of Canadian participants believed that
Canadians devalue or discriminate against people with a mental illness, such as depression.
Additionally, Goldstein and Johnson (1997) examined perceptions of people whose
partners have a disability also have a stigma attached to them. Partners dating a person with
disabilities were seen as more trustworthy but less intelligent and athletic than partners dating a
person without a disability. The participants also made comments about the partners dating a
person with disabilities saying “They have some friends but are not very popular” compared to a
comment about the partner dating a person without a disability saying “They are outgoing and
enjoy being with other people” (Goldstein & Johnson, 1997).
Disability and stigma can affect other domains of life such as education. Shifrer (2013)
examined whether teachers and parents would hold the same educational standards for students
with a learning disability (LD) compared to students without a LD. Teachers and parents do not
share the same educational standards and this results in LD students lowering their educational
expectations. These studies provide evidence that this stigma not only affects social interactions
of the person with the disability but the social interactions and educations of their partners as
well.

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There is a stigma attached to a person with disabilities in multiple areas of life. Stigma
shows up whether you are the person with disabilities or the partner of a person with disabilities.
Stigma happens in school with teacher’s educational expectations of students with learning
disabilities. This stigma attached to persons with disabilities ultimately affects the people
themselves and can have negative connotations. This particular paper will examine certain
stigmas in individuals with a medically recorded disability.
HYPOTHESES
1. Participants who read the non-accommodation vignette would have a more negative
attitude towards people with disabilities than participants who read the accommodation
vignette.
2. Female participants will have a more positive attitude towards people with disabilities
than male participants.
3. Females who read the non-accommodation vignette will have a more positive attitude
towards people with disabilities than females who read the accommodation vignette;
however, male participants who read the accommodation vignette will have the same
attitude towards people with disabilities as males who read the non-accommodation
vignette.
METHODS
Participants
Participants consisted of 55 Intro to Psychological Science students from a small, rural,
Liberal Arts University. Participants were 25 female, predominantly white, and middle class with

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ages ranging from 18 to 30. Age was reported in increments of 5 years. Participants were
rewarded for their time with extra credit towards their final grade.
Measurements
Participants took the Attitudes Toward Disabled Persons scale Form A (ATDP). This is a
30-item inventory with statements such as “The way disabled people act is irritating” (Yuker,
Block, & Younng, 1970, 22-24). Participants rated each statement on a Likert scale ranging from
+3, I agree very much; to -3, I disagree very much. Three types of reliability are available for this
form: stability (+.78 to +.89), equivalence (+.73 to +.89), and stability-equivalence (+.41 to +.83
with a median of +.74). Evidence of validity is based mainly on item content.
Procedure
This study took approximately 15 minutes of the participant’s class time. All participants
were given a packet consisting of a consent form, a demographics sheet, either vignette 1 or 2,
and the Attitudes Toward Disabled Persons scale (Form A). Participants were randomly assigned
to vignette 1, which described a person with disabilities using accommodations, or 2, which
described a person with disabilities not using accommodations. After signing the consent form
and completing the demographic sheet, participants were asked to read their vignette and then
complete the Attitudes Toward Disabled Persons scale. This data was analyzed using SPSS.
Debriefing occurred at the Annual Psychology Department Poster session at the end of the Fall
2015 semester.

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RESULTS
An independent samples t-test was run to test the two main effect hypothesis and a
2(Vignette type) x 2(sex) ANOVA was run to test the interaction hypothesis. Each participant’s
score on the Attitudes Toward Disabled People scale was averaged with a minimum score of -75
and a maximum of 20. The more positive the average score, the more of a negative attitude the
participant had. Sadly, none of my hypotheses were supported.
My first hypothesis that participants who read the accommodation vignette (M = -24.0,
SD = 22.92) will have a more positive attitude than participants who read the non-
accommodation vignette (M = -32.64, SD = 18.94) was not support, t(53) = 1.52, p = .13 (See
Table 1). This significance suggests that a person’s attitudes toward individuals with disabilities
does not change whether or not accommodations are used (See Figure 1).
Table 1
Independent Samples t-test for Vignette Type and Attitude
t df Sig. M SD
1.52 53 .13
Accommodation -24.0 22.92
Non-
Accommodation
-32.64 18.94

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Figure 1. Mean scores by vignette type on the Attitudes Toward Disabled Persons scale.
My second hypothesis that females (M = -29.89, SD = 19.62) will have a more positive
attitude towards people with disabilities than males (M = -.26.96, SD = 22.96) was not
supported, t(53) = -.51, p = .61 (See Table 2). This significance suggests that a person’s sex does
not effect their attitudes toward people with disabilities.

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Table 2.
Independent Samples t-test for Sex and Attitude
t df Sig. M SD
-.51 53 .61
Females -29.89 19.62
Males -29.96 22.96
My third hypothesis was tested with a 2(vignette type) x 2(sex) ANOVA. Females who
read the non-accommodation vignette (M = -28.81, SD = 20.42) will have a more positive
attitude toward people with disabilities than females who read the accommodation vignette (M =
-31.45, SD = 19. 26); however, males who read the non-accommodation vignette (M = -37.75,
SD = 16.18) will have the same attitude toward people with disabilities than males who read the
accommodation vignette (M = -18.88, SD = 24.39) was not supported, F(3, 51) = .49, p = .69
(See Table 3). This significance suggest that a person’s sex does not effect their attitude toward
people with disabilities whether or not accommodations were used (See Figure 2).

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Table 3.
2-way Analysis of Variance for Vignette Type and Sex
F df1 df2 Sig. M SD
Vignette Type X Sex .49 3 51 .69
Accommodation Females
Males
-31.45
-18.88
19.26
24.39
Non-
Accommodation
Females
Males
-28.81
-37.75
20.42
16.18
Figure 2. Mean scores by vignette type and sex on Attitude Toward Disabled Persons scale

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DISCUSSION
Unfortunately, my study did not support any findings. I had a very limited amount of
participants that were not very diverse in race, socioeconomic status or age range. This weakened
both my power and generalizability of my study. Although I did not change the items on form A,
I did not use either form O or form B. Form O was a scale that measures the attitude towards
people with or without disabilities while form B only had a p of .10 or better.
I do not feel that my results were reliable. If I were to do this study again, I would use a
bigger sample size and not limit myself to the Intro to Psychological Science class. I would also
try to find and use a different attitude scale or questionnaire. This one had scales that I couldn’t
use because of either the significance or what the scale measured and it has not been widely
used. The Disability IAT is one measure that I would consider using if I were to do this study
again.
Interestingly, the accommodation vignette received more negative attitude than the non-
accommodation vignette. Similar studies might be improved by inquiring into how non-disabled
participants may have perceived the accommodations as an “advantage.”
While females scored higher on the ATPD scale in the non-accommodation condition, it
was unexpected that the males would score higher in the accommodation condition (See Figure
2). Future researchers should be aware that the vignette involved a disabled woman which may
have confounded the studies data, and it would be valuable insight to investigate the interactions
among: vignette type, character sex, and participant sex.

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References
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and physical activity in children. International Journal of Disability Development and
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Goldstein, S. B., & Johnson, V. A. (1997). Stigma by association: Perceptions of the dating
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Psychology, 19(4), 495-504.
O’Driscoll, C., Heary, C., Hennessy, E., & McKeague, L. (2012). Explicit and implicit stigma
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DOI
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