UCL Discovery
UCL home » Library Services » Electronic resources » UCL Discovery

Implicit Attitudes towards People with Intellectual Disabilities: Their Relationship with Explicit Attitudes, Social Distance, Emotions and Contact.

Wilson, MC; Scior, K; (2015) Implicit Attitudes towards People with Intellectual Disabilities: Their Relationship with Explicit Attitudes, Social Distance, Emotions and Contact. PLoS One , 10 (9) , Article e0137902. 10.1371/journal.pone.0137902. Green open access

[thumbnail of WilsonPlosONE Sep 2015.pdf]
Preview
Text
WilsonPlosONE Sep 2015.pdf

Download (292kB) | Preview

Abstract

Implicit attitude research has expanded rapidly over the last decade and is seen as very promising as it counters biases present in much attitude research such as social desirability. However, most research in the area of intellectual disabilities has focused on explicit attitudes alone. This study examined implicit attitudes to this population and also examined their association with emotional reactions and contact, which have previously been found to have a significant influence on attitudes and stigma. A web based survey consisting of a single target Implicit Association Test, measures of explicit attitudes, social distance, and emotional reactions towards and contact with individuals with intellectual disabilities was completed by 326 adult UK residents. Implicit attitudes were not significantly associated with explicit attitudes, social distance or emotional reactions. Instead there were small to moderate associations between emotional reactions and explicit attitudes and social distance. Implicit attitudes did not vary according to participants' level of contact with individuals with intellectual disabilities, type of the contact relationship (voluntary versus involuntary), gender or educational attainment. In contrast, these participant characteristics did affect explicit attitudes and social distance. Implicit attitudes towards individuals with intellectual disabilities were somewhat negative and, unlike explicit attitudes and stigma, did not vary according to participant demographics or contact. As they may have a negative impact on the lives of people with intellectual disabilities, implicit attitudes merit increased attention in research and interventions in the intellectual disabilities field.

Type: Article
Title: Implicit Attitudes towards People with Intellectual Disabilities: Their Relationship with Explicit Attitudes, Social Distance, Emotions and Contact.
Location: United States
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0137902
Publisher version: http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0137902
Language: English
Additional information: © 2015 Wilson, Scior. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > Div of Psychology and Lang Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > Div of Psychology and Lang Sciences > Clinical, Edu and Hlth Psychology
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1471592
Downloads since deposit
123Downloads
Download activity - last month
Download activity - last 12 months
Downloads by country - last 12 months

Archive Staff Only

View Item View Item