Term of Award
Summer 2017
Degree Name
Master of Science in Experimental Psychology (M.S.)
Document Type and Release Option
Thesis (restricted to Georgia Southern)
Copyright Statement / License for Reuse
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Department
Department of Psychology
Committee Chair
Karen Naufel
Committee Member 1
Lawrence Locker
Committee Member 2
Jessica Brooks
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect that disability-language has on the stigmatization and dehumanization of people with biladocese, a novel disability that carries identical symptoms to severe epilepsy. Two groups, one exposed to person-first language and the other to disability-first language, completed measures of stigma and dehumanization. It was predicted that stigma and dehumanization would be higher in the disability-first language condition and that levels of stigma and dehumanization would be related to each other. However, the results revealed that exposure to language type did not significantly affect levels of stigma or dehumanization. Specifically, levels of stigma and dehumanization were high among both groups of participants and were did not correlate with one another. Short-term exposure to subtle differences in language use when referring to people with disabilities does not seem to have significant effects on how people perceive them.
Recommended Citation
Price, Addison, "The Effect of Disability Language on the Stigmatization and Dehumanization of a Novel Disability" (2017). Electronic Theses & Dissertations.
Research Data and Supplementary Material
No
