Contact Theory-Busted

The intergroup contact theory purports positive effects of intergroup contact on both implicit and explicit attitudes. Implicit attitudes refer to the lack of awareness of the attitude, whereas explicit attitudes are conscious to each individual. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of direct interaction with people with intellectual disabilities on both the conscious and unconscious attitudes of college students without intellectual disabilities. The intergroup contact was accomplished through the Exercise Program for Adults with Down Syndrome (ExDS) at Arizona State University (ASU). ExDS is a semester long program integrating ASU students with adults with Down syndrome to design and perform workouts in a buddy system twice a week. ASU students enrolled in unrelated on-ground courses served as control participants. Implicit attitudes were tested using the Implicit Association Task at the beginning and end of the semester. Explicit attitudes were also tested using a self-report questionnaire--Community Living Attitudes Scale-ID version before and after enrollment in the program. Results were analyzed using a two-way ANOVA, where the interaction effects were statistically insignificant for both the IAT and CLAS-ID. Limitations included inconsistencies in the data collection process, the type of contact with those with intellectual disabilities, possible testing effects of learning both measures pre- and post- testing and a small sample size. Further research is necessary to determine the most effective way to measure implicit and explicit biases to those with intellectual disabilities.