Open AccessIs it possible to enhance positive attitudes towards people with disability?
Author(s) -
Roberto Falanga,
Maria Elvira De Caroli,
E. Sagone
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
new trends and issues proceedings on humanities and social sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2547-8818
DOI - 10.18844/prosoc.v7i3.5229
Subject(s) - inclusion (mineral) , representation (politics) , psychology , disabled people , semantic differential , medical model of disability , developmental psychology , social psychology , applied psychology , psychiatry , life style , politics , political science , law
Attitudes towards disability could influence behaviours, social interactions and inclusion of people with disabilities. Researchers have demonstrated that contact experiences and educational trainings improve positive attitudes towards disability and enhance the representation of the disabled person. The present study explored the effects of a training based on virtual contact with disabled people and experiences of disabled conditions in order to enhance positive attitudes and representation of disabled people in a sample of 131 Italian university students (115 females) aged between 21 and 30 years. A questionnaire concerning social attitudes towards disability and a Semantic Differential about the disabled person was used. Results revealed that, after the training, university students expressed more positive attitudes towards disabled people and showed a more positive representation of the disabled person.
Keywords: Representation of disability; training; virtual contact; attitudes towards disability.