The Effects of Service Dogs on Social Acknowledgments of People in Wheelchairs
- 1 January 1988
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Informa UK Limited in The Journal of Psychology
- Vol. 122 (1), 39-45
- https://doi.org/10.1080/00223980.1988.10542941
Abstract
Able-bodied people often exhibit behaviors that show them to be socially uncomfortable upon encountering a physically disabled stranger. These behaviors include less eye contact, gaze avoidance, greater personal distance, and briefer social interactions. This study examined whether persons in wheelchairs with service dogs receive more frequent social acknowledgement from able-bodied strangers than people in wheelchairs without dogs receive. Behaviors of passersby were recorded by an observer who followed a person in a wheelchair at a distance of 15 to 30 feet. Observations were made in public areas amid pedestrian traffic, areas such as shopping malls and a college campus. The behaviors of passersby to the person in a wheelchair, with or without a service dog, were recorded, including smiles, conversation, touch, gaze aversion, path avoidance, or no response. Results indicated that both smiles and conversations from passersby increased significantly when the dogs were present. These findings suggest that the benefits of service dogs for their owners extend beyond working tasks to include enhanced opportunities for social exchange. The service dogs substantially reduced the tendency of able-bodied people to ignore or avoid the disabled person.Keywords
This publication has 17 references indexed in Scilit:
- The Effects of Effort on Helping the Physically DisabledThe Journal of Social Psychology, 1985
- Baby Beautiful: Adult Attributions of Infant Competence as a Function of Infant AttractivenessChild Development, 1984
- The Relationship of Physical Attractiveness and Similarity of Preferences to Peer Affiliation Among Black ChildrenThe Journal of Negro Education, 1982
- Personal Space as a Function of the Stigma EffectEnvironment and Behavior, 1974
- Young children's stereotyping of facial attractiveness.Developmental Psychology, 1973
- Effect of blood on reactions to a victim.Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1972
- What is beautiful is good.Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1972
- The effects of physical deviance upon face-to-face interaction: The other side.Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1972
- Physical Stigma and Nonverbal Cues Emitted in Face-to-face InteractionHuman Relations, 1968
- The Efects of Physical Deviance upon Face-to-Face InteractionHuman Relations, 1966