Title

Can Media Depictions Change Attitudes Toward People Who Are Blind and Visually Impaired?

Document Type

Student Presentation

Presentation Date

4-15-2019

College

College of Arts and Sciences

Department

Department of Psychological Science

Faculty Sponsor

Dr. Brian W. Stone

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine if exposure to different media stimuli would change a person’s attitudes toward people who are blind or visually impaired. Previous studies have simply measured attitudes but not experimentally tested factors that can change attitudes. To conduct this study, we recruited student volunteers to complete the experiment online. There was no set time limit. Each student was randomly assigned to one of four different groups and there were three different videos shown (the control group did not see a video). The videos shown depicted scenarios of a blind individual in the role of a victim, doing something inspirational (such as rock climbing), carrying out normal everyday life activities using assistive technology, or no video at all. They were asked to complete a survey at the end of the video measuring their attitudes about blindness and visual impairment. The poster will present the results of the experiment.

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