Thomas Dirth | Bemidji State University (original) (raw)
Papers by Thomas Dirth
Discrimination-negative differential treatment against a group or a person based on their group m... more Discrimination-negative differential treatment against a group or a person based on their group membership-is not always considered unacceptable (Jetten, Iyer, Branscombe, & Zhang, 2013). Discrimination against people with disabilities is especially difficult to diagnose as illegitimate because differential ability has long been used a criterion to exclude or treat differently (e.g., Blind or visually impaired people are unable to drive automobiles; some jobs occupied by disabled people can be paid at sub-minimum wages). This ambiguity functions as a formidable obstacle for the collective health and efficacy of the disability community, both because perceiving discrimination as illegitimate has been shown to catalyze collective action (Hansen & Sassenberg, 2011; van Zomeran, Postmes, & Spears, 2008), and because it provides the foundation for positive group identification that can buffer against the psychological harms of pervasive stigma (Branscombe, Schmitt, & Harvey, 1999). Drawing on social identity theory (SIT; Tajfel & Turner, 1979) predictions, Study 1 (N = 335 people with disabilities) assesses whether socio-structural beliefs-permeability of group boundaries, cognitive alternatives to the status quo, and perceived pervasiveness of discrimination-predict perceptions of illegitimate discrimination. The central findings from Study 1 suggest that cognitive alternatives to the status quo and pervasiveness of discrimination, each independently account for variance in explaining perceptions of discrimination as illegitimate. Counter to expectations, group boundary permeability (impairment characteristics: visible, unconcealable, disruptive, and high proportion of life) did not predict participants' perceptions of discrimination as illegitimate. Study 2 (N = 172) investigated the differential influence of disability model endorsement on perceiving discrimination as illegitimate through the socio-structural beliefs from Study 1. Specifically, I measured individual differences in participants' endorsement of medical vs. social model, predicting that to the degree participants endorsed medical model logic, they would perceive discrimination as legitimate, whereas those who showed greater endorsement of social model logic would perceive discrimination as illegitimate. A structural equation model fit to the data with medical and social model endorsement as the predictors, perceived illegitimacy of discrimination as the outcome variable, and
Psychological Bulletin, Dec 1, 2018
Although mainstream psychology has received numerous critiques for its traditional approaches to ... more Although mainstream psychology has received numerous critiques for its traditional approaches to disability-related research, proposals for alternative theory that can encompass the social, cultural, political, and historical features of disability are lacking. The social identity approach (SIA) offers a rich framework from which to ask research questions about the experience of disability in accordance with the critical insights found in disability studies (DS), the source for many of the most compelling critiques of disability psychology research. We review existing research considering the complementary social identity (Tajfel & Turner, 1979) and self-categorization (Turner, Hogg, Reicher, & Wetherell, 1987) theories to support our contention that the disability social category is a significant driving force in the psychological experience of disability and to demonstrate the theoretical utility of the SIA. We suggest that a bridge between the critical epistemological perspectives found in disability studies and the methodological rigor and theoretical breadth and parsimony of a social identity approach is essential for examining the social psychological experience of disability in the 21st century. To conclude we explore the emergent possibilities for research in psychological science that can follow from a social identity approach to disability. (PsycINFO Database Record
Journal of Social Issues, Jun 1, 2017
We want to acknowledge that some models of disability, like the functional/economic model, propos... more We want to acknowledge that some models of disability, like the functional/economic model, propose an interaction between one's disability and their proximal environment (Smart, 2009; Smart & Smart, 2006). Like the medical model, however, this type of interaction model recommends individualcentered interventions (Akabas, 2000; Hahn, 1988). Therefore, we feel that the appropriate contrast to the individualistic focus of the medical model, at least in an experimental study, would be the "social constructionism" of the social model.
Psyccritiques, 2010
Kristin Anderson explores six social myths in this book on how people can be prejudiced and show ... more Kristin Anderson explores six social myths in this book on how people can be prejudiced and show discrimination without even realizing it. The book is mainly on the application of 71-78.
Journal of Social Issues, Jul 30, 2019
Journal of Social Issues, 2019
A pernicious impact of ableism is its tendency to take-for-granted ability as a legitimate criter... more A pernicious impact of ableism is its tendency to take-for-granted ability as a legitimate criterion for negative differential treatment, thereby making disability discrimination difficult to challenge for people with disabilities. This project aims to examine factors underlying disabled persons' perceptions of discrimination legitimacy and potential ways to make discrimination more unambiguously unacceptable. Study 1 (N = 340) tested the Social identity theory (SIT; Tajfel and Turner) prediction that sociostructural beliefs (i.e., group boundary perme-ability, cognitive alternatives to the status quo, and perceived pervasiveness of discrimination) are significant predictors of disabled group members perceiving discrimination as illegitimate. Study 2 (N = 189) extended this analysis to examine how disabled persons' endorsement of the social model of disability differentially shapes their perceptions of the sociostructural relations we tested in Study 1, and how those in turn predict perceptions of discrimination as illegitimate. The major findings of this research both validate social identity theory's proposed predic-tors of perceptions of discrimination as illegitimate and provide evidence that how one conceptualizes disability (endorsement of disability models) significantly affects disabled peoples' experience of ableism. This work is most relevant for disability political mobilization, because it accounts for the variability in how
Psychological bulletin, Jan 12, 2018
Although mainstream psychology has received numerous critiques for its traditional approaches to ... more Although mainstream psychology has received numerous critiques for its traditional approaches to disability-related research, proposals for alternative theory that can encompass the social, cultural, political, and historical features of disability are lacking. The social identity approach (SIA) offers a rich framework from which to ask research questions about the experience of disability in accordance with the critical insights found in disability studies (DS), the source for many of the most compelling critiques of disability psychology research. We review existing research considering the complementary social identity (Tajfel & Turner, 1979) and self-categorization (Turner, Hogg, Reicher, & Wetherell, 1987) theories to support our contention that the disability social category is a significant driving force in the psychological experience of disability and to demonstrate the theoretical utility of the SIA. We suggest that a bridge between the critical epistemological perspective...
Journal of Social and Political Psychology, 2019
This paper applies a decolonial approach to hegemonic psychological science by engaging marginali... more This paper applies a decolonial approach to hegemonic psychological science by engaging marginalized knowledge perspectives of Disability Studies (DS) to reveal and disrupt oppressive knowledge formations associated with standard understandings of ability. In the first section of the paper, we draw upon mainstream DS scholarship to challenge individualistic orientations to disability (evident in the medical model and positive psychology perspectives) that pervade psychological science. The purpose of this approach is to normalize disability by thinking through disabled ways of being as viable and valuable. In the second section of the paper, we draw upon critical race and global disability perspectives to denaturalize hegemonic accounts of ability. Rather than essential properties of human bodies and minds, the capabilities of the modern subject reflect technological and ideological investments that enable a privileged few, while disabling the marginalized global majority. We conclu...
Discrimination—negative differential treatment against a group or a person based on their group m... more Discrimination—negative differential treatment against a group or a person based on their group membership—is not always considered unacceptable (Jetten, Iyer, Branscombe, & Zhang, 2013). Discrimination against people with disabilities is especially difficult to diagnose as illegitimate because differential ability has long been used a criterion to exclude or treat differently (e.g., Blind or visually impaired people are unable to drive automobiles; some jobs occupied by disabled people can be paid at sub-minimum wages). This ambiguity functions as a formidable obstacle for the collective health and efficacy of the disability community, both because perceiving discrimination as illegitimate has been shown to catalyze collective action (Hansen & Sassenberg, 2011; van Zomeran, Postmes, & Spears, 2008), and because it provides the foundation for positive group identification that can buffer against the psychological harms of pervasive stigma (Branscombe, Schmitt, & Harvey, 1999). Drawi...
In three studies (N = 340) we examined the effects of medical versus social model representations... more In three studies (N = 340) we examined the effects of medical versus social model representations of physical disability on awareness of structural discrimination and prodisability policy support among nondisabled persons. In all three studies, we found either an indirect (Studies 1 and 2) or full mediational effect of awareness of structural discrimination on the relationship between social model representations and policy support. Study 1 provided correlational evidence using individual social model endorsement as the predictor variable, while in Studies 2 and 3 experimentally manipulated model of disability. Finally, Study 3 provided evidence that medical model representations reduce prodisability policy support by encouraging the legitimization of the status quo.
Journal of Social Issues, 2019
A pernicious impact of ableism is its tendency to take-for-granted ability as a legitimate criter... more A pernicious impact of ableism is its tendency to take-for-granted ability as a legitimate criterion for negative differential treatment, thereby making disability discrimination difficult to challenge for people with disabilities. This project aims to examine factors underlying disabled persons' perceptions of discrimination legitimacy and potential ways to make discrimination more unambiguously unacceptable. Study 1 (N = 340) tested the Social identity theory (SIT; Tajfel and Turner) prediction that sociostructural beliefs (i.e., group boundary perme-ability, cognitive alternatives to the status quo, and perceived pervasiveness of discrimination) are significant predictors of disabled group members perceiving discrimination as illegitimate. Study 2 (N = 189) extended this analysis to examine how disabled persons' endorsement of the social model of disability differentially shapes their perceptions of the sociostructural relations we tested in Study 1, and how those in turn predict perceptions of discrimination as illegitimate. The major findings of this research both validate social identity theory's proposed predic-tors of perceptions of discrimination as illegitimate and provide evidence that how one conceptualizes disability (endorsement of disability models) significantly affects disabled peoples' experience of ableism. This work is most relevant for disability political mobilization, because it accounts for the variability in how
Journal of Social and Political Psychology, 2019
This paper applies a decolonial approach to hegemonic psychological science by engaging marginali... more This paper applies a decolonial approach to hegemonic psychological science by engaging marginalized knowledge perspectives of Disability Studies (DS) to reveal and disrupt oppressive knowledge formations associated with standard understandings of ability. In the first section of the paper, we draw upon mainstream DS scholarship to challenge individualistic orientations to disability (evident in the medical model and positive psychology perspectives) that pervade psychological science. The purpose of this approach is to normalize disability by thinking through disabled ways of being as viable and valuable. In the second section of the paper, we draw upon critical race and global disability perspectives to denaturalize hegemonic accounts of ability. Rather than essential properties of human bodies and minds, the capabilities of the modern subject reflect technological and ideological investments that enable a privileged few, while disabling the marginalized global majority. We conclude by discussing implications of decolonial theory for DS and ways in which considerations of disability subjectivity can inform the decolonial project.
Although mainstream psychology has received numerous critiques for its traditional approaches to ... more Although mainstream psychology has received numerous critiques for its traditional approaches to disability-related research, proposals for alternative theory that can encompass the social, cultural, political, and historical features of disability are lacking. The social identity approach (SIA) offers a rich framework from which to ask research questions about the experience of disability in accordance with the critical insights found in disability studies (DS), the source for many of the most compelling critiques of disability psychology research. We review existing research considering the complementary social identity (Tajfel & Turner, 1979) and self-categorization (Turner, Hogg, Reicher, & Wetherell, 1987) theories to support our contention that the disability social category is a significant driving force in the
psychological experience of disability and to demonstrate the theoretical utility of the SIA. We suggest that a bridge between the critical epistemological perspectives found in disability studies and the methodological rigor and theoretical breadth and parsimony of a social identity approach is essential for examining the social psychological experience of disability in the 21st century. To conclude we explore the emergent possibilities for research in psychological science that can follow from a social identity approach to disability.
In three studies (N = 340) we examined the effects of medical versus social model representations... more In three studies (N = 340) we examined the effects of medical versus social model
representations of physical disability on awareness of structural discrimination
and prodisability policy support among nondisabled persons. In all three studies,
we found either an indirect (Studies 1 and 2) or full mediational effect of
awareness of structural discrimination on the relationship between social model
representations and policy support. Study 1 provided correlational evidence using
individual social model endorsement as the predictor variable, while in Studies 2
and 3 experimentally manipulated model of disability. Finally, Study 3 provided
evidence that medical model representations reduce prodisability policy support
by encouraging the legitimization of the status quo.
Discrimination-negative differential treatment against a group or a person based on their group m... more Discrimination-negative differential treatment against a group or a person based on their group membership-is not always considered unacceptable (Jetten, Iyer, Branscombe, & Zhang, 2013). Discrimination against people with disabilities is especially difficult to diagnose as illegitimate because differential ability has long been used a criterion to exclude or treat differently (e.g., Blind or visually impaired people are unable to drive automobiles; some jobs occupied by disabled people can be paid at sub-minimum wages). This ambiguity functions as a formidable obstacle for the collective health and efficacy of the disability community, both because perceiving discrimination as illegitimate has been shown to catalyze collective action (Hansen & Sassenberg, 2011; van Zomeran, Postmes, & Spears, 2008), and because it provides the foundation for positive group identification that can buffer against the psychological harms of pervasive stigma (Branscombe, Schmitt, & Harvey, 1999). Drawing on social identity theory (SIT; Tajfel & Turner, 1979) predictions, Study 1 (N = 335 people with disabilities) assesses whether socio-structural beliefs-permeability of group boundaries, cognitive alternatives to the status quo, and perceived pervasiveness of discrimination-predict perceptions of illegitimate discrimination. The central findings from Study 1 suggest that cognitive alternatives to the status quo and pervasiveness of discrimination, each independently account for variance in explaining perceptions of discrimination as illegitimate. Counter to expectations, group boundary permeability (impairment characteristics: visible, unconcealable, disruptive, and high proportion of life) did not predict participants' perceptions of discrimination as illegitimate. Study 2 (N = 172) investigated the differential influence of disability model endorsement on perceiving discrimination as illegitimate through the socio-structural beliefs from Study 1. Specifically, I measured individual differences in participants' endorsement of medical vs. social model, predicting that to the degree participants endorsed medical model logic, they would perceive discrimination as legitimate, whereas those who showed greater endorsement of social model logic would perceive discrimination as illegitimate. A structural equation model fit to the data with medical and social model endorsement as the predictors, perceived illegitimacy of discrimination as the outcome variable, and
Psychological Bulletin, Dec 1, 2018
Although mainstream psychology has received numerous critiques for its traditional approaches to ... more Although mainstream psychology has received numerous critiques for its traditional approaches to disability-related research, proposals for alternative theory that can encompass the social, cultural, political, and historical features of disability are lacking. The social identity approach (SIA) offers a rich framework from which to ask research questions about the experience of disability in accordance with the critical insights found in disability studies (DS), the source for many of the most compelling critiques of disability psychology research. We review existing research considering the complementary social identity (Tajfel & Turner, 1979) and self-categorization (Turner, Hogg, Reicher, & Wetherell, 1987) theories to support our contention that the disability social category is a significant driving force in the psychological experience of disability and to demonstrate the theoretical utility of the SIA. We suggest that a bridge between the critical epistemological perspectives found in disability studies and the methodological rigor and theoretical breadth and parsimony of a social identity approach is essential for examining the social psychological experience of disability in the 21st century. To conclude we explore the emergent possibilities for research in psychological science that can follow from a social identity approach to disability. (PsycINFO Database Record
Journal of Social Issues, Jun 1, 2017
We want to acknowledge that some models of disability, like the functional/economic model, propos... more We want to acknowledge that some models of disability, like the functional/economic model, propose an interaction between one's disability and their proximal environment (Smart, 2009; Smart & Smart, 2006). Like the medical model, however, this type of interaction model recommends individualcentered interventions (Akabas, 2000; Hahn, 1988). Therefore, we feel that the appropriate contrast to the individualistic focus of the medical model, at least in an experimental study, would be the "social constructionism" of the social model.
Psyccritiques, 2010
Kristin Anderson explores six social myths in this book on how people can be prejudiced and show ... more Kristin Anderson explores six social myths in this book on how people can be prejudiced and show discrimination without even realizing it. The book is mainly on the application of 71-78.
Journal of Social Issues, Jul 30, 2019
Journal of Social Issues, 2019
A pernicious impact of ableism is its tendency to take-for-granted ability as a legitimate criter... more A pernicious impact of ableism is its tendency to take-for-granted ability as a legitimate criterion for negative differential treatment, thereby making disability discrimination difficult to challenge for people with disabilities. This project aims to examine factors underlying disabled persons' perceptions of discrimination legitimacy and potential ways to make discrimination more unambiguously unacceptable. Study 1 (N = 340) tested the Social identity theory (SIT; Tajfel and Turner) prediction that sociostructural beliefs (i.e., group boundary perme-ability, cognitive alternatives to the status quo, and perceived pervasiveness of discrimination) are significant predictors of disabled group members perceiving discrimination as illegitimate. Study 2 (N = 189) extended this analysis to examine how disabled persons' endorsement of the social model of disability differentially shapes their perceptions of the sociostructural relations we tested in Study 1, and how those in turn predict perceptions of discrimination as illegitimate. The major findings of this research both validate social identity theory's proposed predic-tors of perceptions of discrimination as illegitimate and provide evidence that how one conceptualizes disability (endorsement of disability models) significantly affects disabled peoples' experience of ableism. This work is most relevant for disability political mobilization, because it accounts for the variability in how
Psychological bulletin, Jan 12, 2018
Although mainstream psychology has received numerous critiques for its traditional approaches to ... more Although mainstream psychology has received numerous critiques for its traditional approaches to disability-related research, proposals for alternative theory that can encompass the social, cultural, political, and historical features of disability are lacking. The social identity approach (SIA) offers a rich framework from which to ask research questions about the experience of disability in accordance with the critical insights found in disability studies (DS), the source for many of the most compelling critiques of disability psychology research. We review existing research considering the complementary social identity (Tajfel & Turner, 1979) and self-categorization (Turner, Hogg, Reicher, & Wetherell, 1987) theories to support our contention that the disability social category is a significant driving force in the psychological experience of disability and to demonstrate the theoretical utility of the SIA. We suggest that a bridge between the critical epistemological perspective...
Journal of Social and Political Psychology, 2019
This paper applies a decolonial approach to hegemonic psychological science by engaging marginali... more This paper applies a decolonial approach to hegemonic psychological science by engaging marginalized knowledge perspectives of Disability Studies (DS) to reveal and disrupt oppressive knowledge formations associated with standard understandings of ability. In the first section of the paper, we draw upon mainstream DS scholarship to challenge individualistic orientations to disability (evident in the medical model and positive psychology perspectives) that pervade psychological science. The purpose of this approach is to normalize disability by thinking through disabled ways of being as viable and valuable. In the second section of the paper, we draw upon critical race and global disability perspectives to denaturalize hegemonic accounts of ability. Rather than essential properties of human bodies and minds, the capabilities of the modern subject reflect technological and ideological investments that enable a privileged few, while disabling the marginalized global majority. We conclu...
Discrimination—negative differential treatment against a group or a person based on their group m... more Discrimination—negative differential treatment against a group or a person based on their group membership—is not always considered unacceptable (Jetten, Iyer, Branscombe, & Zhang, 2013). Discrimination against people with disabilities is especially difficult to diagnose as illegitimate because differential ability has long been used a criterion to exclude or treat differently (e.g., Blind or visually impaired people are unable to drive automobiles; some jobs occupied by disabled people can be paid at sub-minimum wages). This ambiguity functions as a formidable obstacle for the collective health and efficacy of the disability community, both because perceiving discrimination as illegitimate has been shown to catalyze collective action (Hansen & Sassenberg, 2011; van Zomeran, Postmes, & Spears, 2008), and because it provides the foundation for positive group identification that can buffer against the psychological harms of pervasive stigma (Branscombe, Schmitt, & Harvey, 1999). Drawi...
In three studies (N = 340) we examined the effects of medical versus social model representations... more In three studies (N = 340) we examined the effects of medical versus social model representations of physical disability on awareness of structural discrimination and prodisability policy support among nondisabled persons. In all three studies, we found either an indirect (Studies 1 and 2) or full mediational effect of awareness of structural discrimination on the relationship between social model representations and policy support. Study 1 provided correlational evidence using individual social model endorsement as the predictor variable, while in Studies 2 and 3 experimentally manipulated model of disability. Finally, Study 3 provided evidence that medical model representations reduce prodisability policy support by encouraging the legitimization of the status quo.
Journal of Social Issues, 2019
A pernicious impact of ableism is its tendency to take-for-granted ability as a legitimate criter... more A pernicious impact of ableism is its tendency to take-for-granted ability as a legitimate criterion for negative differential treatment, thereby making disability discrimination difficult to challenge for people with disabilities. This project aims to examine factors underlying disabled persons' perceptions of discrimination legitimacy and potential ways to make discrimination more unambiguously unacceptable. Study 1 (N = 340) tested the Social identity theory (SIT; Tajfel and Turner) prediction that sociostructural beliefs (i.e., group boundary perme-ability, cognitive alternatives to the status quo, and perceived pervasiveness of discrimination) are significant predictors of disabled group members perceiving discrimination as illegitimate. Study 2 (N = 189) extended this analysis to examine how disabled persons' endorsement of the social model of disability differentially shapes their perceptions of the sociostructural relations we tested in Study 1, and how those in turn predict perceptions of discrimination as illegitimate. The major findings of this research both validate social identity theory's proposed predic-tors of perceptions of discrimination as illegitimate and provide evidence that how one conceptualizes disability (endorsement of disability models) significantly affects disabled peoples' experience of ableism. This work is most relevant for disability political mobilization, because it accounts for the variability in how
Journal of Social and Political Psychology, 2019
This paper applies a decolonial approach to hegemonic psychological science by engaging marginali... more This paper applies a decolonial approach to hegemonic psychological science by engaging marginalized knowledge perspectives of Disability Studies (DS) to reveal and disrupt oppressive knowledge formations associated with standard understandings of ability. In the first section of the paper, we draw upon mainstream DS scholarship to challenge individualistic orientations to disability (evident in the medical model and positive psychology perspectives) that pervade psychological science. The purpose of this approach is to normalize disability by thinking through disabled ways of being as viable and valuable. In the second section of the paper, we draw upon critical race and global disability perspectives to denaturalize hegemonic accounts of ability. Rather than essential properties of human bodies and minds, the capabilities of the modern subject reflect technological and ideological investments that enable a privileged few, while disabling the marginalized global majority. We conclude by discussing implications of decolonial theory for DS and ways in which considerations of disability subjectivity can inform the decolonial project.
Although mainstream psychology has received numerous critiques for its traditional approaches to ... more Although mainstream psychology has received numerous critiques for its traditional approaches to disability-related research, proposals for alternative theory that can encompass the social, cultural, political, and historical features of disability are lacking. The social identity approach (SIA) offers a rich framework from which to ask research questions about the experience of disability in accordance with the critical insights found in disability studies (DS), the source for many of the most compelling critiques of disability psychology research. We review existing research considering the complementary social identity (Tajfel & Turner, 1979) and self-categorization (Turner, Hogg, Reicher, & Wetherell, 1987) theories to support our contention that the disability social category is a significant driving force in the
psychological experience of disability and to demonstrate the theoretical utility of the SIA. We suggest that a bridge between the critical epistemological perspectives found in disability studies and the methodological rigor and theoretical breadth and parsimony of a social identity approach is essential for examining the social psychological experience of disability in the 21st century. To conclude we explore the emergent possibilities for research in psychological science that can follow from a social identity approach to disability.
In three studies (N = 340) we examined the effects of medical versus social model representations... more In three studies (N = 340) we examined the effects of medical versus social model
representations of physical disability on awareness of structural discrimination
and prodisability policy support among nondisabled persons. In all three studies,
we found either an indirect (Studies 1 and 2) or full mediational effect of
awareness of structural discrimination on the relationship between social model
representations and policy support. Study 1 provided correlational evidence using
individual social model endorsement as the predictor variable, while in Studies 2
and 3 experimentally manipulated model of disability. Finally, Study 3 provided
evidence that medical model representations reduce prodisability policy support
by encouraging the legitimization of the status quo.