Abstract
Individuals with a physical disability may experience less favourable non-verbal communication when interacting with able-bodied people. However, this effect may be mitigated if the person with a disability is an athlete. Previous studies primarily use vignettes to convey disability and athlete status rather than direct in-person interactions. The purpose of this study was to compare the non-verbal communication of able-bodied individuals when they were interacting with a person with a physical disability who is either an athlete or non-athlete. Adult participants (n=56; Mage=22.2; SD=3.46) were ostensibly recruited for a marketing competition, whereby interviewing potential team members was the task. Participants interviewed a confederate with a physical disability who was portrayed as either an athlete or non-athlete through the use of a resume that participants read prior to the interview. Non-verbal behaviours (head nods, forward lean, physical distance and positive and negative facial expressions) were video recorded through one-way glass. The videos were independently coded by two research assistants who were blind to the condition. Separate one-way ANCOVA with age as a covariate were conducted for each behaviour. Participants in the non-athlete condition had a higher number of head nods – a positive non-verbal behaviour – than participants in the athlete condition. (F(1,53)=4.99, p=.03, ?p2=.066). No other significant effects emerged. Contrary to hypotheses, athlete status of the confederate with a disability did not positively impact the non-verbal behaviours of able-bodied participants' during an interaction. Participants' non-verbal behaviours may have been biased by the knowledge of being evaluated in a mock marketing competition.
