Details
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 522 - 542 |
| Number of pages | 21 |
| Journal | Public Understanding of Science |
| Volume | 32 |
| Issue number | 4 |
| Early online date | 12 Jan 2023 |
| Publication status | Published - May 2023 |
Abstract
As brain-computer interfaces are promoted as assistive devices, some researchers worry that this promise to “restore” individuals worsens stigma toward disabled people and fosters unrealistic expectations. In three web-based survey experiments with vignettes, we tested how refusing a brain-computer interface in the context of disability affects cognitive (blame), emotional (anger), and behavioral (coercion) stigmatizing attitudes (Experiment 1, N = 222) and whether the effect of a refusal is affected by the level of brain-computer interface functioning (Experiment 2, N = 620) or the risk of malfunctioning (Experiment 3, N = 620). We found that refusing a brain-computer interface increased blame and anger, while brain-computer interface functioning did change the effect of a refusal. Higher risks of device malfunctioning partially reduced stigmatizing attitudes and moderated the effect of refusal. This suggests that information about disabled people who refuse a technology can increase stigma toward them. This finding has serious implications for brain-computer interface regulation, media coverage, and the prevention of ableism.
Keywords
- brain-computer interfaces, disability, factorial survey experiment, public attitudes, stigma
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Social Sciences(all)
- Communication
- Psychology(all)
- Developmental and Educational Psychology
- Arts and Humanities(all)
- Arts and Humanities (miscellaneous)
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In: Public Understanding of Science, Vol. 32, No. 4, 05.2023, p. 522 - 542.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer review
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Brain-Computer Interfaces, Disability, and the Stigma of Refusal
T2 - A Factorial Vignette Study
AU - Sample, Matthew
AU - Sattler, Sebastian
AU - Boehlen, Wren
AU - Racine, Eric
N1 - Publisher Copyright: © The Author(s) 2023.
PY - 2023/5
Y1 - 2023/5
N2 - As brain-computer interfaces are promoted as assistive devices, some researchers worry that this promise to “restore” individuals worsens stigma toward disabled people and fosters unrealistic expectations. In three web-based survey experiments with vignettes, we tested how refusing a brain-computer interface in the context of disability affects cognitive (blame), emotional (anger), and behavioral (coercion) stigmatizing attitudes (Experiment 1, N = 222) and whether the effect of a refusal is affected by the level of brain-computer interface functioning (Experiment 2, N = 620) or the risk of malfunctioning (Experiment 3, N = 620). We found that refusing a brain-computer interface increased blame and anger, while brain-computer interface functioning did change the effect of a refusal. Higher risks of device malfunctioning partially reduced stigmatizing attitudes and moderated the effect of refusal. This suggests that information about disabled people who refuse a technology can increase stigma toward them. This finding has serious implications for brain-computer interface regulation, media coverage, and the prevention of ableism.
AB - As brain-computer interfaces are promoted as assistive devices, some researchers worry that this promise to “restore” individuals worsens stigma toward disabled people and fosters unrealistic expectations. In three web-based survey experiments with vignettes, we tested how refusing a brain-computer interface in the context of disability affects cognitive (blame), emotional (anger), and behavioral (coercion) stigmatizing attitudes (Experiment 1, N = 222) and whether the effect of a refusal is affected by the level of brain-computer interface functioning (Experiment 2, N = 620) or the risk of malfunctioning (Experiment 3, N = 620). We found that refusing a brain-computer interface increased blame and anger, while brain-computer interface functioning did change the effect of a refusal. Higher risks of device malfunctioning partially reduced stigmatizing attitudes and moderated the effect of refusal. This suggests that information about disabled people who refuse a technology can increase stigma toward them. This finding has serious implications for brain-computer interface regulation, media coverage, and the prevention of ableism.
KW - brain-computer interfaces
KW - disability
KW - factorial survey experiment
KW - public attitudes
KW - stigma
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85146617090&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1177/09636625221141663
DO - 10.1177/09636625221141663
M3 - Article
VL - 32
SP - 522
EP - 542
JO - Public Understanding of Science
JF - Public Understanding of Science
SN - 0963-6625
IS - 4
ER -