Research suggests that while individuals may self-report positive attitudes towards autism, dehumanising attitudes (seeing another as less than human) may still prevail. This study investigated knowledge, openness and dehumanising attitudes of non-autistic people towards autistic people. A total of 361 participants completed a survey measuring autism openness, knowledge and experience, along with a measure of dehumanisation. Results showed that knowledge of autism was comparable to past research and females were more open towards autism. Findings also indicated evidence for dehumanisation, with a particular denial of ‘human uniqueness’ traits. Furthermore, dehumanisation was related to openness towards autism. These findings have implications for targeting attitudes to reduce stigma associated with autism.
AllportGW (1954) The Nature of Prejudice. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.
2.
American Psychiatric Association (2013) Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. 5th ed.Arlington, VA: American Psychiatric Publishing.
3.
BairdGSimonoffEPicklesAet al. (2006) Prevalence of disorders of the autism spectrum in a population cohort of children in South Thames: the Special Needs and Autism Project (SNAP). The Lancet368(9531): 210–215.
4.
BargielaSStewardRMandyW (2016) The experiences of late-diagnosed women with autism spectrum conditions: an investigation of the female autism phenotype. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders46(10): 3281–3294.
5.
BastianBHaslamN (2010) Excluded from humanity: the dehumanizing effects of social ostracism. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology46(1): 107–113.
6.
BirdGCookR (2013) Mixed emotions: the contribution of alexithymia to the emotional symptoms of autism. Translational Psychiatry3(7): pe285.
7.
BirdGVidingE (2014) The self to other model of empathy: providing a new framework for understanding empathy impairments in psychopathy, autism, and alexithymia. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews47: 520–532.
8.
BogdanRTaylorSJ (1989) Relationships with severely disabled people: The social construction of humanness. Social Problems36(2): 135–148.
9.
Bottema-BeutelKKimSYMieleDB (2018) College students’ evaluations and reasoning about exclusion of students with autism and learning disability: context and goals may matter more than contact. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. Epub ahead of print 4 October. DOI: 10.1007/s10803-018-3769-5.
10.
BrewerRBiottiFCatmurCet al. (2016) Can neurotypical individuals read autistic facial expressions? Atypical production of emotional facial expressions in autism spectrum disorders. Autism Research9(2): 262–271.
11.
CageEMonacoJDNewellV (2018) Experiences of autism acceptance and mental health in autistic adults. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders48: 473–484.
12.
CampbellJMFergusonJEHerzingerCVet al. (2004) Combined descriptive and explanatory information improves peers’ perceptions of autism. Research in Developmental Disabilities25(4): 321–339.
13.
CapozzaDDi BernardoGAFalvoRet al. (2016) Individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities: do educators assign them a fully human status?Journal of Applied Social Psychology46(9): 497–509.
14.
CookRBrewerRShahPet al. (2013) Alexithymia, not autism, predicts poor recognition of emotional facial expressions. Psychological Science24(5): 723–732.
15.
DavidsonJHendersonVL (2010) ‘Coming out’ on the spectrum: autism, identity and disclosure. Social & Cultural Geography11(2): 155–170.
16.
DeanMHarwoodRKasariC (2017) The art of camouflage: gender differences in the social behaviors of girls and boys with autism spectrum disorder. Autism: The International Journal of Research and Practice21: 678–689.
17.
DillenburgerKMcKerrLJordanJAet al. (2015) Creating an inclusive society … how close are we in relation to autism spectrum disorder? A General Population Survey. Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities28(4): 330–340.
18.
EavesLCHoHH (2008) Young adult outcome of autism spectrum disorders. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders38(4): 739–747.
19.
FarmerGDBaron-CohenSSkylarkWJ (2017) People with autism spectrum conditions make more consistent decisions. Psychological Science28: 1067–1076.
20.
FieldA (2013) Discovering Statistics Using IBM SPSS Statistics. 3rd ed.London: SAGE.
21.
FousianiKMichaelidesMDimitropoulouP (2018) The effects of ethnic group membership on bullying at school: when do observers dehumanize bullies?The Journal of Social Psychology. Epub ahead of print 24 August. DOI: 10.1080/00224545.2018.1505709.
22.
GardinerEIarocciG (2014) Students with autism spectrum disorder in the university context: peer acceptance predicts intention to volunteer. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders44(5): 1008–1017.
23.
Gillespie-LynchKBrooksPJSomekiFet al. (2015) Changing college students’ conceptions of autism: an online training to increase knowledge and decrease stigma. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders45(8): 2553–2566.
24.
Gillespie-LynchKKappSKBrooksPJet al. (2017) Whose expertise is it? Evidence for autistic adults as critical autism experts. Frontiers in Psychology8: 438.
25.
GoffPAEberhardtJLWilliamsMJet al. (2008) Not yet human: implicit knowledge, historical dehumanization, and contemporary consequences. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology94(2): 292–306.
26.
GoffmanE (1990) Stigma: Notes on the Management of Spoiled Identity. 3rd ed.London: Penguin Books.
27.
GrayDE (2002) ‘Everybody just freezes. Everybody is just embarrassed’: felt and enacted stigma among parents of children with high functioning autism. Sociology of Health & Illness24(6): 734–749.
28.
GriffithGMTotsikaVNashSet al. (2012) ‘I just don’t fit anywhere’: support experiences and future support needs of individuals with Asperger syndrome in middle adulthood. Autism16(5): 532–546.
29.
HarnumMDuffyJFergusonDA (2007) Adults’ versus children’s perceptions of a child with autism or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders37(7): 1337–1343.
30.
HaslamN (2006) Dehumanization: an integrative review. Personality and Social Psychology Review10(3): 252–264.
31.
HaslamNLoughnanS (2014) Dehumanization and Infrahumanization. Annual Review of Psychology65(1): 399–423.
32.
HaslamNStratemeyerM (2016) Recent research on dehumanization. Current Opinion in Psychology11: 25–29.
33.
HaslamNBainPDougeLet al. (2005) More human than you: attributing humanness to self and others. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology89(6): 937–950.
34.
HaslamNLoughnanSKashimaYet al. (2009) Attributing and denying humanness to others. European Review of Social Psychology19(1): 55–85.
35.
HeasmanBGillespieA (2018) Perspective-taking is two-sided: misunderstandings between people with Asperger’s syndrome and their family members. Autism22: 740–750.
36.
HullLPetridesKVAllisonCet al. (2017) ‘Putting on my best normal’: social camouflaging in adults with autism spectrum conditions. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders47(8): 2519–2534.
37.
JensenCMMartensCSNikolajsenNDet al. (2016) What do the general population know, believe and feel about individuals with autism and schizophrenia: results from a comparative survey in Denmark. Autism20(4): 496–508.
38.
KappSKGillespie-lynchKShermanLEet al. (2013) Deficit, difference, or both? Autism and neurodiversity. Developmental Psychology49(1): 59–71.
39.
KellyABarnes-HolmesD (2013) Implicit attitudes towards children with autism versus normally developing children as predictors of professional burnout and psychopathology. Research in Developmental Disabilities34(1): 17–28.
40.
KennyLHattersleyCMolinsBet al. (2016) Which terms should be used to describe autism? Perspectives from the UK autism community. Autism20(4): 442–462.
41.
KteilyNBruneauEWaytzAet al. (2015) The ascent of man: theoretical and empirical evidence for blatant dehumanization. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology109(5): 901–931.
42.
LaiM-CLombardoMVRuigrokANet al. (2017) Quantifying and exploring camouflaging in men and women with autism. Autism21: 690–702.
43.
LeyensJ-PRodriguez-PerezARodriguez-TorresRet al. (2001) Psychological essentialism and the differential attribution of uniquely human emotions to ingroups and outgroups. European Journal of Social Psychology31(4): 395–411.
44.
MakWWKwokYT (2010) Internalization of stigma for parents of children with autism spectrum disorder in Hong Kong. Social Science & Medicine70(12): 2045–2051.
45.
MavropoulouSSideridisGD (2014) Knowledge of autism and attitudes of children towards their partially integrated peers with autism spectrum disorders. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders44(8): 1867–1885.
46.
MiltonDEM (2012) On the ontological status of autism: the ‘double empathy problem’. Disability & Society27(6): 883–887.
47.
NevillREAWhiteSW (2011) College students’ openness toward autism spectrum disorders: improving peer acceptance. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders41(12): 1619–1628.
48.
ObeidRDaouNDeNigrisDet al. (2015) A cross-cultural comparison of knowledge and stigma associated with autism spectrum disorder among college students in Lebanon and the United States. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders45(11): 3520–3536.
49.
PetersG-JY (2014) The alpha and the omega of scale reliability and validity: why and how to abandon Cronbach’s alpha and the route towards more comprehensive assessment of scale quality. European Health Psychologist16(2): 56–69.
50.
PettigrewTFTroppLR (2006) A meta-analytic test of intergroup contact theory. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology90(5): 751–783.
51.
RosenbaumPLArmstrongRWKingSM (1988) Determinants of children’s attitudes toward disability: a review of evidence. Children’s Health Care17(1): 32–39.
52.
SassonNJMorrisonKE (2017) First impressions of adults with autism improve with diagnostic disclosure and increased autism knowledge of peers. Autism. Epub ahead of print 1 October. DOI: 10.1177/1362361317729526.
53.
SassonNJFasoDJNugentJet al. (2017) Neurotypical peers are less willing to interact with those with autism based on thin slice judgments. Scientific Reports7: 40700.
54.
SaxLJGilmartinSKBryantAN (2003) Assessing response rates and nonresponse bias in web and paper surveys. Research in Higher Education44(4): 409–432.
55.
ScheerenAMBegeerSBanerjeeRet al. (2010) Can you tell me something about yourself? Self-presentation in children and adolescents with high functioning autism spectrum disorder in hypothetical and real life situations. Autism14(5): 457–473.
56.
ShtayermmanO (2009) An exploratory study of the stigma associated with a diagnosis of Asperger’s syndrome: the mental health impact on the adolescents and young adults diagnosed with a disability with a social nature. Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment19(3): 298–313.
57.
SodianBFrithU (1992) Deception and Sabotage in autistic, retarded and normal children. The Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry33(3): 591–605.
58.
StierAHinshawSP (2007) Explicit and implicit stigma against individuals with mental illness. Australian Psychologist42(2): 106–117.
59.
SwaimKFMorganSB (2001) Children’s attitudes and behavioral intentions toward a peer with autistic behaviors: does a brief educational intervention have an effect?Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders31(2): 195–205.
60.
TierneySBurnsJKilbeyE (2016) Looking behind the mask: social coping strategies of girls on the autistic spectrum. Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders23: 73–83.
61.
TiptonLABlacherJ (2014) Brief report: autism awareness: views from a campus community. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders44(2): 477–483.
62.
VaesJLeyensJPPaladinoMPet al. (2012) We are human, they are not: driving forces behind outgroup dehumanisation and the humanisation of the ingroup. European Review of Social Psychology23(1): 64–106.
63.
WhiteDHillierAFryeAet al. (2016) College students’ knowledge and attitudes towards students on the autism spectrum. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. Epub ahead of print 26 May. DOI: 10.1007/s10803-016-2818-1.
Supplementary Material
Please find the following supplemental material available below.
For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.
For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.
