Cultural stereotypes of disabled and non-disabled men and women : consensus for global category representations and diagnostic domains

"Despite the fact that disabled people comprise a heterogeneous social group, cross-impairment cultural stereotypes reflect a consistent set of beliefs used to characterize this population as dependent, incompetent, and asexual. Using a free-response methodology, stereotypical beliefs about disabled men (DM) and women (DW) were contrasted against the stereotypes of their non-disabled counterparts illustrating the dimensions considered most diagnostic of each group. Results revealed that both disabled and non-disabled participants expressed consensus about the contents of group stereotypes that exaggerate traditional gender role expectations of the non-disabled while minimizing perceived differences between DM and DW. Implications for the field of stereotyping and prejudice, and the individual and system justifying functions of cultural stereotypes are discussed"
British Journal of Social Psychology, 49