Fan Yuxin, Li Liyan, Shan Shuyu, Lei Xiuya, Yang Yang
Department of Psychology, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Beijing Forestry University, 35 Qinghua East Road, Haidian District, 100083, Beijing, P. R. China.
Students' Affairs Office, Beijing Forestry University, Haidian District, 35 Qinghua East Road, Beijing, 100083, P. R. China.
BMC Psychol. 2025 May 22;13(1):540. doi: 10.1186/s40359-025-02850-6.
China has a large population of individuals with physical disabilities and mental disorders. The public's implicit stereotypes of these groups are significant factors influencing their daily lives, social integration, and mental health. The intergroup contact theory implies that the public may have positive implicit stereotypes of physically disabled groups and negative implicit stereotypes of individuals with mental disorders. In contrast, the theory of intergroup discrimination and ingroup favoritism implies that the public may have opposite implicit stereotypes of these two groups.
This study employed two IRAP experiments to examine whether there is a difference in the public's implicit stereotypes toward these two groups of disabled individuals and to determine which theory aligns more closely with contemporary reality.
The Implicit Relational Assessment Procedure (IRAP) was employed to assess 60 participants.
IRAP1 found that participants tended to affirm "physically disabled groups + positive words" (p<0.05) as well as "the group with mental disorder + negative words" (p<0.05), while IRAP2 found that participants tended to deny "physically disabled groups + positive words" (p<0.05).
IRAP1 directly supports the theory of intergroup contact, whereas IRAP2 provides indirect support for the theory of intergroup discrimination and ingroup favoritism. The public holds both positive and negative implicit stereotypes towards these two groups of disabilities. This study expands the application of IRAP, uncovers the public's complex implicit stereotypes, and enhances two theories closely related to the people with disabilities. It is crucial for understanding these implicit stereotypes and for mitigating and alleviating negative implicit stereotypes.
中国有大量身体残疾和精神障碍患者。公众对这些群体的隐性刻板印象是影响他们日常生活、社会融入和心理健康的重要因素。群体间接触理论表明，公众可能对身体残疾群体持有积极的隐性刻板印象，而对精神障碍患者持有消极的隐性刻板印象。相比之下，群体间歧视和内群体偏袒理论则表明，公众对这两类群体可能持有相反的隐性刻板印象。
本研究采用两项内隐关系评估程序（IRAP）实验，以检验公众对这两类残疾个体的隐性刻板印象是否存在差异，并确定哪种理论更符合当代现实。
采用内隐关系评估程序（IRAP）对60名参与者进行评估。
IRAP1发现，参与者倾向于肯定“身体残疾群体+积极词汇”（p<0.05）以及“精神障碍群体+消极词汇”（p<0.05），而IRAP2发现参与者倾向于否定“身体残疾群体+积极词汇”（p<0.05）。
IRAP1直接支持群体间接触理论，而IRAP2为群体间歧视和内群体偏袒理论提供了间接支持。公众对这两类残疾群体持有积极和消极的隐性刻板印象。本研究扩展了IRAP的应用，揭示了公众复杂的隐性刻板印象，并完善了与残疾人密切相关的两种理论。这对于理解这些隐性刻板印象以及减轻和消除消极隐性刻板印象至关重要。
