Undergraduate Students' Judgments and Reasoning About Exclusion of Students With Autism Spectrum Disorder

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Abstract

This study examined how college students evaluate and reason about exclusion of students based on the peers’ disability in contexts relevant to campus life. Semi-structured interview was conducted on 142 undergraduate students to investigate participants’ evaluations and justifications in scenarios varied by disability (ASD vs. LD), the context (classroom vs. social context) and whether or not a grade was at stake. Participants also completed several online questionnaires. Exclusion was more likely to be considered acceptable if the target had ASD, when there was a grade at stake, and in a classroom. Empathy predicted evaluations, but contact and orientation to interdependence did not. There were also contextual variations in participants’ justifications for their evaluations.

Authors

• So Yoon Kim, Korea University

• Kristen Bottema-Beutel, Boston College

• Josephine Cuda, Boston College

• Shannon Crowley, Boston College

• David Miele