Autism: The Effects of a Label on Social Acceptability and Desirability of a Child

The current study measured the effects of disorder labels and informational vignettes on ratings of social attractiveness (traits, perceived social interaction, academic achievement, and occupational attainment). Participants were randomly assigned to view a photograph of a normally developing boy with a label describing him as having been diagnosed with autism, ADHD, or as normally developing. Some participants were also assigned to read a vignette, which provided information about that disorder. Analyses revealed that the target labeled as having ADHD was rated significantly less favorably for social interaction than either the target described as having autism or normally developing. The targets labeled as having autism or ADHD were rated significantly lower on academic achievement than the target labeled as normally developing. The autism label elicited the least favorable ratings of occupational attainment relative to the other two conditions with the target labeled as having ADHD receiving less favorable ratings than the normally developing target. Regarding the effectiveness of the information intervention, for autism, the provision of information led to more positive perceptions of academic and occupational achievement. Within the ADHD label condition, information also led to more positive perceptions of academic achievement relative to not receiving information.