Eva Louvet

Social judgment toward job applicants with disabilities: Perception of personal qualities and competences

Objective: Building on D. Stone and A. Colella’s (1996) model, this article examines how job applicants with or without a physical disability are evaluated in relation to the nature of the job. Design: Data from 284 management undergraduates were collected through 2 experimental studies based on the same paradigm: Participants had to evaluate individuals with or without a disability applying for jobs that did or did not involve a great deal of interpersonal contact (Study 1) and for jobs typically reserved for men or for women (Study 2). Results: Job applicants with disability were rated more negatively than applicants without disability in poor-fit conditions (job involving a great deal of interpersonal contact, or male job). This devaluation was particularly marked in issues reflecting competence. By way of contrast, individuals with disabilities received higher ratings on personal qualities. Conclusions: To promote the employment of persons with disabilities, it is important not only to improve the level of qualification of people with disabilities but also to attempt to change the nature of perception of these individuals.

Social Judgment of People with a Disability in the Workplace: How to Make a Good Impression on Employers

This research investigates the social judgment of people with a disability in a professional context. In Study 1, participants without a disability were asked to rate people with a disability on scales measuring competence and warmth. In Study 2 individuals with and without a disability were asked to present themselves in such a way as to make the best possible impression on a potential employer. In a second round, they were asked to make the best possible impression assuming that they had (or did not have) a disability. As predicted, people with a disability were systematically presented as warm, but incompetent. This evaluation was observed in groups of people with and in those without a disability.

Implicit measures of the stereotype content associated with disability

The present research aimed to show that the mixed stereotype content of persons with disability observed at an explicit level does not manifest itself using implicit measures. Two experimental studies were conducted to analyse the stereotype content of persons with a disability at the implicit level. The procedure used in this study was the concept priming paradigm. Furthermore, Study 2 also included an explicit measure. Results show important discrepancies between implicit and explicit measures. At an explicit level, previous work supporting the mixed stereotype content of persons with disability was replicated: participants judged these persons as warmer but less competent than persons without a disability. At an implicit level, a quite different pattern of results emerged: persons with a disability were associated not only with less competence than persons without disability, but also with less warmth. These findings suggest that the mixed pattern between warmth and competence generally observed at an explicit level may be based on societal pressures against prejudice and discrimination.

Facets of the Fundamental Content Dimensions: Agency with Competence and Assertiveness—Communion with Warmth and Morality

Agency (A) and communion (C) are fundamental content dimensions. We propose a facet-model that differentiates A into assertiveness (AA) and competence (AC) and C into warmth (CW) and morality (CM). We tested the model in a cross-cultural study by comparing data from Asia, Australia, Europe, and the USA (overall N = 1.808). Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses supported our model. Both the two-factor model and the four-factor model showed good fit indices across countries. Participants answered additional measures intended to demonstrate the fruitfulness of distinguishing the facets. The findings support the models construct validity by positioning the fundamental dimensions and their facets within a network of self-construal, values, impression management, and the Big Five personality factors: In all countries, A was related to independent self-construal and to agentic values, C was related to interdependent self-construal and to communal values. Regarding the facets, AA was always related to A values, but the association of AC with A values fell below our effect size criterion in four of the five countries. A (both AA and AC) was related to agentic impression management. However, C (both CW and CM) was neither related to communal nor to agentic impression management. Regarding the Big Five personality factors, A was related to emotional stability, to extraversion, and to conscientiousness. C was related to agreeableness and to extraversion. AA was more strongly related to emotional stability and extraversion than AC. CW was more strongly related to extraversion and agreeableness than CM. We could also show that self-esteem was more related to AA than AC; and that it was related to CM, but not to CW. Our research shows that (a) the fundamental dimensions of A and C are stable across cultures; and (b) that the here proposed distinction of facets of A and C is fruitful in analyzing self-perception. The here proposed measure, the AC-IN, may be a useful tool in this research area. Applications of the facet model in social perception research are discussed.

Le stéréotype des personnes handicapées en fonction de la nature de la déficience Une application des modèles de la bi-dimensionnalité du jugement social

EnglishThe present research concerns the stereotypes associated with subgroups of persons with disability. Building on the ambivalent nature of social judgment (Dubois & Beauvois, 2008 ; Fiske, Cuddy, Glick & Xu, 2002), we assessed the degree to which participants without disability (N = 210) differentiate among particular disability subgroups on scales reflecting personality traits. A principal-components analysis revealed that social judgment centers on three distinguishable factors: the two fundamental dimensions traditionally found, i.e. warmth and competence, and a third dimension, that we labelled courage. Results suggest that persons with disability are seen as less competent, but more warm and courageous than persons without disability. Moreover, we showed that people conceptualize disability at two levels: mental and physical disability. Persons with mental disability are viewed as less competent and less courageous than persons with physical disability. Implications of these stereotypes for understanding discriminatory behaviors against persons with disability are discussed. francaisEn s�appuyant sur les modeles recents de la bi-dimensionnalite du jugement social (Dubois & Beauvois, 2008 ; Fiske, Cuddy, Glick & Xu, 2002), l�objectif de cette etude est d�analyser le stereotype associe aux differents sous-groupes de personnes en situation de handicap. 210 etudiants ont evalue differents sous groupes de personnes handicapees, a partir de traits de personnalite. Au-dela des dimensions d�agreabilite et competence classiquement relevees dans la litterature, nos resultats font apparaitre une troisieme dimension, celle du courage. Les comparaisons de moyennes montrent que les personnes handicapees sont jugees moins competentes, mais plus agreables et plus courageuses que les personnes sans handicap. Par ailleurs, il apparait que le handicap est subdivise en deux categories : le handicap physique et le handicap mental. Les personnes avec un handicap mental sont percues moins competentes et moins courageuses que celles avec un handicap physique.

Les travailleurs handicapés sont-ils perçus comme des travailleurs compétents ?

Resume En reference aux modeles actuels dans le domaine du jugement social, l’objectif de ce travail est d’analyser l’image des personnes en situation de handicap dans le monde du travail. Dans trois etudes, les participants (valides) devaient evaluer des personnes avec ou sans handicap, qui travaillent ou non, sur des traits refletant les principales dimensions du jugement social (desirabilite sociale et utilite sociale). Les resultats ont montre que les personnes avec handicap sont systematiquement jugees moins utiles, mais plus desirables que les personnes sans handicap. Concernant plus specifiquement l’utilite sociale, les personnes avec handicap etaient considerees moins competentes, mais plus courageuses que les personnes sans handicap. Ces resultats sont discutes en reference a la valeur economique des personnes en situation de handicap.

Priming of disability and elderly stereotype in motor performance: similar or specific effects?

In three experimental studies, the effects of priming participants with the disability stereotype were investigated with respect to their subsequent motor performance. Also explored were effects of activating two similar stereotypes, persons with a disability and elderly people. In Study 1, participants were primed with the disability stereotype versus with a neutral prime, and then asked to perform on a motor coordination task. In Studies 2 and 3, a third condition was introduced: priming participants with the elderly stereotype. Results indicated that priming participants with the disability stereotype altered their motor performance: they showed decreased manual dexterity and performed slower than the non-primed participants. Priming with the elderly stereotype decreased only performance speed. These findings underline that prime-to-behavior effects may depend on activation of specific stereotype content.

Implicit stereotyping against people with disability

Focusing on the two fundamental dimensions underlying stereotype content (warmth/competence), the major aim of the present research was to test implicit stereotyping toward persons with disability. We hypothesized that persons with disability are associated with less warmth than persons without disability and with less competence, especially when a competence-relevant context is activated (work context). Three experimental studies were conducted using two different priming paradigms: conceptual priming (Study 1) and evaluative priming (Studies 2 and 3). In Study 3, context (work vs. control) was introduced as an additional factor. Our results showed that persons with disability were systematically associated with less warmth than persons without disability, and with less competence when priming a work context. These results provide a more comprehensive understanding of discriminatory behaviors toward people with disability, despite legislation promoting equal rights.

The relationship between social status and the components of agency

ABSTRACT Building on the two fundamental dimensions of social judgment distinguishing communion from agency, the purpose of the present work was to show that the strength of the relationship between social status and agency depends on specific components at issue: assertiveness, competence, and effort. Four experimental studies were conducted using two complementary paradigms. In Studies 1 and 2, we manipulated social status, and participants had to rate the target on competence, assertiveness, and effort. In Studies 3 and 4, we reversed the design. Results consistently showed that social status was primarily related to assertiveness, somewhat related to competence, and only slightly related to effort. The present research provides a better understanding of how the dimensions of social judgment are used to explain differences in social status.