1. The Development of the Disability Opinion Surveys and the Social Distance Survey: Preliminary Report.
- Author
-
Memphis State Univ., TN. Dept. of Special Education and Rehabilitation. and Greer, Bobby G.
- Abstract
To determine whether individuals project their own locus of control to their attitude toward the disabled, several forms of a disability opinion survey based on J. Rotter's concepts were developed. The Disability Opinion Survey (DOS) (Form IS) was administered to 99 undergraduate and graduate students in special education and rehabilitation; and a demographic information sheet, the Attitude Toward Disabled Persons Scale, the DOS (Forms IS and IST), and the Social Distance Survey (SDS) were administered to 216 Ss consisting of 99 inservice special education teachers and three classes of special education and rehabilitation majors. Findings led to the following preliminary conclusions: that the Internal-External scale of the DOS measured the degree of respect the S held for the internal motivations of disabled persons; that Ss having more professional training in working with disabled persons tended to score toward the internal end of the continuum; that the Special Consideration scale of the DOS measured the tendency of the S to extend special considerations to disabled persons; that the Treatment scale of the DOS tended to tap the S's view of the effectiveness of rehabilitation programs for the disabled; and that the DOS (Forms IS and IST) and the SDS appeared to have much promise in measuring affective dimensions in persons intending to work professionally with the disabled. (GW)
- Published
- 1974