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The effect of a serious game on empathy and prejudice of psychology students towards persons with disabilities

OLIVIER, Linda
STERKENBURG, Paula
Van RENSBURG, Esmé
2019

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Background: Much has been done regarding the promotion of equality in rights in terms of legislation, but persons with disabilities remain marginalised in society. Negative attitudes and prejudice contribute towards numerous challenges for persons with disabilities.

 

Objectives: This study investigated the level of empathy and prejudice of students towards persons with disabilities, and the effect of the use of a serious game to enhance empathy and reduce prejudice.

 

Method: A randomised controlled experiment with pre-test, post-test and follow-up test was used. Availability sample (N = 83) of psychology university students (22% males; 78% females) was divided into an experimental group that played the serious game The World of Empa and two control groups. The first control group received texts on case studies and information on reacting in a sensitive and responsive way, and the second control group received no intervention.

 

Results: Participants have average levels of empathy (score: 32 to 52) and strong prejudice (score: 0.08 to −0.87) towards persons with disabilities. The intervention results in a slight short-term effect for prejudice and sub-scale measurements of empathy. A slight improvement was noted in participants’ ability to transpose themselves imaginatively into the experience of disabled characters.

 

Conclusion: The findings contribute to the understanding of empathy as a dynamic component that can be positively influenced by, for example, a serious game. These results have teaching implications on the facilitation of empathy. The short-term effect on empathy and prejudice towards persons with disabilities may contribute to bridge the inequality experienced by persons with disabilities.

 

African Journal of Disability, Vol 8, 2019

Stereotypes about adults with learning disabilities: Are professionals a cut above the rest?

JAMAL, Gulgoona
2019

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Purpose: The study examined the differing perceptions of professionals and the public (non-professionals) regarding life success for adults with learning disability (LD).

 

Method: The sample (N = 342) consisted of 175 professionals (P) and 167 non-professionals (NP), with a mean age of 30.02 years and S.D. = 12.42 years. Their perceptions about life success of an individual with learning disability were studied with the help of four vignettes that provided hypothetical information about the age, class, and hobbies of a college student. The four vignettes were identical in describing the student and only differed in terms of gender (M and F), and presence and absence of learning disability (LD and NLD).

 

Results: No significant difference was found between attitudes held by professionals and non-professionals. Both the groups showed significantly greater negative attitudes about perceived life success for adults with learning disability than for those without learning disability. The results have been discussed with the help of social psychological theories in the areas of attitude, bias, and stigmatization.

 

Conclusion and Implications: It is clear that a negative bias exists toward individuals with learning disability in the urban Indian milieu. The fact that not only the public but also professionals were biased against individuals with learning disability regarding their life success implies that negative stereotypes are deeply embedded. This research may provide the impetus to address issues like prevalence of stigma against learning disability in society, its effective attenuation as well as equality and inclusion for individuals with learning disability.

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