Positive Attitudes Toward Disabled People: Disabled and Nondisabled Persons' Perspectives

This article addresses the differing perceptions that disabled and nondisabled persons may have of what constitutes '"positive" attitudes and behaviors toward people with physical disabilities. Quantitative and qualitative data are presented to suggest that the strain that frequently occurs during interactions between disabled and nondisabled individuals may derive more from misunderstandings of one another's expectations than from negative intentions. Suggestions are made, methodologically, for ways that these areas of misunderstanding can be isolated empirically, and conceptually, for ways that information can be exchanged to correct these misunderstandings.