Investigation of the Contact Hypothesis in the Context of Hiring Disabled People

Details

Supervisors

Aust, Ina ; Strang, Louis ; Irlenbusch, Bernd

Faculty

Louvain School of Management

Degree label

Master [120] en sciences de gestion, à finalité spécialisée

Abstract

Despite efforts towards inclusion, disabled people are still not adequately represented in the labor market. Previous research has particularly identified negative attitudes as a significant barrier to their successful employment. This study investigates Allport’s contact hypothesis, which suggests that intergroup contact can reduce prejudices and lead to more positive attitudes. So far, however, there has been no clear consensus on the impact of prior contact in the context of disability. This work therefore intends to offer a more nuanced understanding by conducting a detailed survey on various aspects of contact. For this, contact quantity (i.e., the number of contacts), contact frequency and contact quality (i.e., whether the contact experiences were positive or negative) were examined in relation to attitudes in the context of hiring. Among the 278 non-disabled respondents, primarily from Germany, contact frequency and contact quality emerged as significant predictors of attitudes, while contact quantity did not. Furthermore, respondents had a more favorable hiring attitude towards physical and sensory disabilities compared to intellectual and mental disabilities. Overall, the findings suggest that contact with disabled people can play a role in changing attitudes of non-disabled people. Moreover, it shows that a distinction should be made between different types of disabilities.