Inclusion matters: investigating effective knowledge and intergroup contact approaches to reduce disability and neurodivergence prejudice

According to government statistics around 21% of the UK population is disabled and 15-20% are neurodivergent. Despite these statistics, prejudice against individuals with disabilities and/or neurodivergence persists as a significant social issue, impacting opportunities, inclusion, and overall well-being for disabled and neurodivergent people. Over the course of the 20th and 21st centuries many social researchers endeavoured to improve relations between majority and minority groups. One way to do this was through intergroup contact. Intergroup contact is defined as 'interactions between members of different social groups' (Ramasubramanian & Costantini, 2020). One of the main theoretical approaches to emerge from intergroup contact research is Allport's Intergroup Contact Theory (Allport, 1954). From this theory a wealth of intergroup research has emerged across different intergroup contexts.

Drawing upon social psychology theories and empirical research, this thesis aims to advance psychological theory by investigating the efficacy and limitations of education, intergroup contact, and training to reducing disability and neurodivergence prejudice and foster positive attitudes towards these individuals. This research employs a mixed-methods approach, combining quantitative surveys and qualitative analyses to explore the underlying mechanisms and outcomes of contact interventions across participant populations to answer four main questions:

1. What is the current state of intergroup research in the disabled/non-disabled and neurodivergent/neurotypical intergroup contexts?

2. Do knowledge and contact interventions work to improve non-disabled adult's attitudes and intended behaviours toward disabled and neurodivergent

adults?

3. What factors influence disability and neurodivergent prejudice?

4. Are teachers in the UK fully equipped to support students with special educational needs?

Ultimately, this thesis underscores the importance of psychological research and theory as powerful tools for challenging prejudice, promoting understanding, and creating a more inclusive society where individuals with disabilities and/or neurodivergence are valued and respected. In this research we demonstrate that targeted interventions have the potential to create meaningful social change and advance the rights and inclusion of individuals with disabilities and neurodivergence. We also identify design features that can either limit or strengthen these intervention effects and use this information to highlight interesting and necessary avenues for future research.