The Tip of the Iceberg: Uncovering Attitudes towards Invisible Disability

Invisible disabilities account for 80% of all disabilities, but are mostly overlooked in the disability research field. Existing literature suggests that individuals with invisible disabilities face unique challenges in achieving social inclusion. We hypothesized that attitudes towards invisible disabilities are more negative than towards visible disabilities. In three studies (Ntotal = 444), we used an immersive approach-avoidance paradigm to test this hypothesis. Study 1 compared approach-avoidance tendencies towards visible versus invisible disabilities, while Study 2 replicated these results in a population of teachers. Study 3 employed an Incident-VAAST to address participant’s control bias and the artificiality of direct comparisons between visible and invisible disabilities. Our results, supported by frequentist and Bayesian statistics, as well as a mini meta-analysis, consistently showed faster avoidance tendencies towards invisible disabilities, indicating stronger negative attitudes, compared to visible disabilities. This research underscores the urgency of broadening our understanding of disability and its social implications.