Imagined Contact As a Means to Improving Attitudes Towards People with Learning Disabilities and Reducing Intergroup Anxieties
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Imagined contact as a means to improving attitudes towards people with learning disabilities and reducing intergroup anxieties Alessia Price A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the University of East London for the degree of Doctor of Clinical Psychology. May, 2016 ABSTRACT Background: It is well evidenced that people with learning disabilities are exposed to multiple disadvantages including stigma and discrimination; however, few interventions have been developed to tackle this. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effectiveness of an intervention called 'imagined contact' as a way to improve attitudes and reduce intergroup anxieties towards people with learning disabilities. This was the first time imagined contact had been delivered as a face-to-face intervention for this target group. Method: University students (N = 107) were randomised to four experimental conditions (imagined contact condition; imagined contact control condition; educational film condition; and education delivered as text condition). Participants attitudes, anxiety and desire for social distance towards people with learning disabilities were measured post-intervention and at one-month follow- up. Results: Imagined contact did not improve attitudes, reduce intergroup anxiety, or reduce participants’ desire for social distance towards people with learning disabilities, compared to the other experimental conditions. Instead results indicated that imagined contact significantly increased participants’ intergroup anxiety towards people with learning disabilities. However, at one-month follow- up it was found that imagined contact reduced intergroup anxiety and desire for social distance. Conclusions: More exploration of the mechanisms of imagined contact are needed, particularly for highly stigmatised groups, such as people with learning disabilities, in order for it to be shown to be effective, above and beyond educational interventions. Due to the small sample size and convenience sample utilised, the findings in the present study should be viewed primarily as pointers for recommendations for future research. i TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES…………………………..…………………………………………V LIST OF FIGURES…………………………………………...……………………….V ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ................................................................................ VI 1. INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................... 1 2. DEFINITIONS ............................................................................................... 1 2.1. Learning Disability ............................................................................... 1 2.2. Attitudes ............................................................................................... 2 2.2.1. Prejudice ......................................................................................... 3 2.2.2. Stereotypes ..................................................................................... 3 2.3. Stigma ................................................................................................... 4 3. LITERATURE SEARCH ............................................................................... 4 3.1. Search Strategy ................................................................................... 4 3.1.1. Inclusion Criteria.............................................................................. 5 3.1.2. Exclusion Criteria ............................................................................ 5 4. LITERATURE REVIEW ................................................................................ 6 4.1. Stigma and Learning Disabilities ....................................................... 6 4.2. Contact Hypothesis ........................................................................... 10 4.2.1. Intergroup Anxiety ......................................................................... 12 4.2.2. Limitations Of Direct Contact ......................................................... 13 4.3. Extended Contact .............................................................................. 13 4.4. Imagined Intergroup Contact ............................................................ 15 4.4.1. Mental Imagery Research ............................................................. 15 4.4.2. Behavioural Theories .................................................................... 16 4.4.3. Evidence For Imagined Contact .................................................... 17 4.4.4. Imagined Contact Paradigm .......................................................... 17 4.5. Imagined Contact And People With LDs .......................................... 22 4.5.1. Imagined Contact And Physical Disabilities .................................. 22 4.5.2. Imagined Contact And Humanity Perceptions ............................... 24 4.5.3. Imagined Contact Via The Internet ................................................ 26 5. PRESENT STUDY ..................................................................................... 28 5.1. Justification ........................................................................................ 28 5.2. Hypotheses ........................................................................................ 29 6. METHODOLOGY ....................................................................................... 30 6.1. Epistemological Position .................................................................. 30 6.2. Methodology ...................................................................................... 31 6.3. Design ................................................................................................. 31 6.4. Selection and Recruitment of Participants ...................................... 33 ii 6.4.1. Sample .......................................................................................... 33 6.4.2. Inclusion And Exclusion Criteria .................................................... 33 6.4.3. Power Analysis .............................................................................. 33 6.4.4. Recruitment ................................................................................... 34 6.5. Participants ........................................................................................ 35 6.5.1. Follow-up Study............................................................................. 35 6.6. Materials – Stimuli and Measures .................................................... 36 6.6.1. Educational Film ............................................................................ 36 6.6.2. Education In Text .......................................................................... 36 6.6.3. Intervention – Imagined Contact ................................................... 37 6.6.4. Measures ...................................................................................... 37 6.7. Ethical Issues ..................................................................................... 38 6.7.1. Ethical Approval ............................................................................ 38 6.7.2. Consent ......................................................................................... 38 6.7.3. Confidentiality And Anonymity ....................................................... 39 6.7.4. Debrief ........................................................................................... 39 6.8. Procedure ........................................................................................... 40 6.8.1. Imagined LD Contact Condition .................................................... 41 6.8.2. Imagined Contact Control Condition .............................................. 41 6.8.3. Educational Film Only Condition ................................................... 42 6.8.4. Education In Text Only Condition .................................................. 42 6.9. Statistical Analysis ............................................................................ 43 6.10. Content Analysis ............................................................................... 43 7. RESULTS ................................................................................................... 45 7.1. Initial Assumption Tests of the Data ................................................ 45 7.2. Descriptive Characteristics ............................................................... 45 7.3. Effects of the Interventions at Time 1 .............................................. 47 7.4. Effects of the Interventions at Time 2 .............................................. 49 7.4.1. Repeated Measures ANOVA ........................................................ 49 7.4.2. Wilcoxon Signed Ranks Test ........................................................ 49 7.4.3. Time 2 Results .............................................................................. 49 7.5. Analysis of Imagined Contact Written Text ..................................... 52 8. DISCUSSION ............................................................................................. 55 8.1. Summary of Findings ........................................................................ 55 8.2. Evaluation of the Findings ................................................................ 56 8.2.1. Self-Report Measures ................................................................... 56 8.2.2. Differences In Group Characteristics ............................................. 57 8.2.3. Follow-up Results