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The impact of humorous media on attitudes toward persons with disabilities

Purpose: To examine the relationship between disability-related humor and attitudes toward persons with disabilities in business students (i.e. “future employers”). Method: Students watched one of two films designed to reduce negative attitudes toward persons with disabilities (one humorous in tone and the other serious in tone) or no film at all, and completed a measure of attitudes toward persons with disabilities. Results: Results indicated that, after controlling for previous contact with persons with disabilities, age, and gender, students who watched the humorous film reported significantly more positive attitudes toward persons with disabilities. Conclusions: Disability humor may be an effective means of positively influencing attitudes toward persons with disabilities in future employers. Implications for Rehabilitation The acceptance and integration of persons with disabilities into society continues to be limited by negative attitudes. Previous research has shown that employers with positive attitudes toward persons with disabilities may be more likely to hire a person with a disability than employers with negative attitudes. In this study, students who watched a humorous film reported significantly more positive attitudes toward persons with disabilities than students who watched a serious film or no film at all. Consequently, it may be beneficial to embed disability humor into job-placement strategies in order to improve attitudes and positively influence hiring decisions.