| Despite protection form federal legislation, employees with disabilities continue to be discriminated against in the workplace. This study examined the effects of an education and contact intervention on participants' knowledge about disabilities, attitudes toward employees with disabilities, and behavioral intent on hiring applicants with disabilities. When examining participants' behavioral intent, the study explored whether the effectiveness of the education and contact interventions were dependent on the type of disability. The interventions were presented in five-minute long videos. The findings indicated that the education intervention did increase participants' knowledge, however, this was not sustained over time (i.e. one week later). Further, participants the control condition, who viewed a generic diversity video, had more positive attitudes toward employees with disabilities than the education or contact condition. Behavioral intent scores regarding intentions to hire applicants with disabilities did not vary significantly across conditions. The implications of these findings will be discussed. |
