A meta-analysis of experimental studies on the effects of disability on human resource judgments

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Abstract

More and more attention has been given to workplace discrimination against people with disabilities, and many researchers have conducted research on this topic. However, the existing results from these studies are ambiguous and mixed. The purpose of this meta-analysis is to examine and elucidate the pattern underlying this ambiguity. Twenty three published articles and eight unpublished theses and dissertations were included in this meta-analysis. We assessed the main effects of disability on human resource (HR) judgments (i.e., hiring decision, performance expectation, and performance evaluation). The moderating effects of types of disability, sex of the target, and study settings were also examined. Results demonstrated that these characteristics did produce moderating effects for HR judgments. Future research and implications are discussed.

Section snippets

Main effects of disability on HR judgments

Consistent with the ADA (1990), we use the general definition of disability as a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities for the target. Research about the effects of disability has come from multiple disciplines, such as social psychology, sociology, and rehabilitation psychology, and there have been mixed results across and within fields with regard to the empirical examination of discrimination against people with disabilities in the

Moderating effects of study characteristics

The mixed empirical results regarding discrimination against people with disabilities may also be caused by the presence of differing characteristics in the studies (Colella & Stone, 2005). We therefore expect that some study characteristics would serve as potential moderators to explain the relationship between disabilities and HR judgments. More specifically, we focus on the moderating effects of the types of disabilities being compared, the sex of the target, and whether the experimental

Methods

The purpose of this study is to examine the mixed effects of disability on HR judgments in the workplace as well as to investigate some potential moderators to explain what are sometimes ambiguous results. In other words, we are only interested in examining research that explicitly examined discrimination against people with disabilities regarding workplace HR judgments (i.e., hiring decisions, performance evaluations, and performance expectations).

Results

Hypothesis 1, Hypothesis 1, Hypothesis 1 stated that there would be an overall positive effect of disability on performance evaluations and an overall negative effect of disability on performance expectations and hiring decisions. As Table 3 indicates, there were significant negative effects of disability on two dependent measures. The overall effect sizes for performance expectations and hiring decisions were clearly negative. Each of their mean effect sizes was negative (− 0.14 for performance

Discussion

In general, our hypothesized predictions were largely supported in the experimental studies that we analyzed. There were clear negative effects for disability on performance expectations and hiring decisions, consistent with these HR judgments reflecting forward-looking, predictive measures, anticipating not only how the person with a disability will perform but also predictions of “fit” with the position and/or organization. Thus, these results may stem from perceptions of the individual with

Conclusion

We expect this meta-analysis to generate new directions for future research on disability discrimination in the workplace. The number of studies in this area is increasing and the field remains a promising one. The ADA should have the potential to decrease or even eliminate many forms of workplace discrimination against people with disabilities. The realization of this objective requires commitment and effort of all individuals, organizations, and the government.

Acknowledgement

The authors would like to acknowledge a Mays Summer Research Grant as providing partial funding for this research.

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