Attitudes of undergraduate students towards persons with disabilities; the role of the need for social approval

• Authors: Joanna Kowalska , Justyna Winnicka
• Languages of publication: EN

Abstracts

EN

The purpose of this study was a diagnosis of the attitudes of students of Warsaw universities towards people with disabilities and the variables which impacted on these attitudes. Additionally, we examined the relationship between the need for social approval and explicit attitudes towards people with disabilities. The study focused on two components of attitudes: behavioural (measured by preferable social distance – SDSB) and cognitive (tested with a semantic differential scale – SDSO). 318 students completed a survey including a demographic sheet, a social desirability scale, the SDSB and SDSO. The results indicate that students expressed positive attitudes towards people with disabilities. The impact of such variables as gender, the type of disability and the need for social approval was registered and were differentiated in regard to components of attitudes. The results are discussed with reference to earlier research and cues for further studies are suggested.

Keywords

EN

attitudes; disability; social distance; semantic differential; social approval

• Publisher: Committee for Psychological Sciences, Polish Academy of Sciences
• Journal: Polish Psychological Bulletin
• Year: 2013
• Volume: 44
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 40-49

Contributors

author

Joanna Kowalska

• Faculty of Psychology, University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland

author

Justyna Winnicka

• Collegium of Economic Analysis, Warsaw School of Economics, Warsaw, Poland