Changing negative attitudes towards persons with physical disabilities: an experimental intervention

Abstract

An experimental study was designed and tested to change negative attitudes towards the physically disabled. A pre-post-test intervention was conducted including three conditions: (a) cognitive intervention; (b) cognitive and behavioural intervention involving equal-status contact with the target group; (c) no-intervention control. The sample consisted of 70 ninth grade students. Following baseline assessments of attitudes, attitude change was measured immediately following the intervention and at a follow-up three months post-intervention. The cognitive intervention provided information about physical disability and challenged stereotypic conceptions about the physically disabled. The behavioural intervention consisted of engaging in three paralympic disciplines under the instruction of a group of disabled athletes. The cognitive intervention alone did not result in significant changes in attitudes towards the physically disabled. However, the combined cognitive-behavioural intervention resulted in greater attitude change than the no-intervention condition, both immediately post-intervention and at a three months follow-up. The findings are discussed with regard to models of attitude change through equal-status contact. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.