Stigma, use of hearing aids and oversize hearing devices and explanation of an abnormal appearance
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Date
2014-04-09
Authors
Evans, Scott W.
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Abstract
Nondisabled people frequently feel uncomfortable with or avoid physically disabled people. One purpose of the study was to assess people's responses to a confederate who used a hearing aid. A second purpose was to assess responses to the confederate when he wore a more a more effective and much more conspicuous hearing device. The third purpose was to see if volunteering an explanation of the hearing device would result in a less negative response than that found without an explanation. The participants were 80 male undergraduates. They interacted with the confederate, a male undergraduate whose hearing was normal, in an interview situation. There were no differences among the hearing impaired conditions, or between the hearing impaired conditions and a nondisabled control condition, on any of these variables: distance from the confederate, delay before initiating conversation when left alone with the confederate, length of the interview, and impression ratings of the confederate. These results suggest that people do not avoid or feel uncomfortable with a person who uses a hearing aid or a larger hearing device. Because participants did not respond negatively to the large hearing device when no explanation was offered, the possible benefits of voluntarily explaining the device could not be assessed.
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Keywords
Stigma, Hearing aids, Hearing devices