attitudes among rehabilitation professionals may have to do with the nature of the contact

between the professional and client. Specifically, in rehabilitation settings the nature of

the relationship between the rehabilitation professional and client with a disability is one

of inferior status and dependence (Amir, 1969). Further, the person with a disability is

not necessarily at his/her best when working with the rehabilitation professional, which

can also contribute to the formation of a negative attitude (Wills, 1978).

In a study of professions other than human service professionals, English and Oberle

(1971) reported that attitudes towards persons with disabilities by airline stewardesses

were more negative than typists. The results of these studies support the hypothesis that

certain types of contact are related to increased negative attitudes towards persons with

disabilities. However, the relationship between contact and attitude is complex and

warrants a more detailed exploration.

Contact Theory

 The idea of contact was originally discussed by Lee and Humphrey in their analysis

of the Detroit riot of 1943 (Allport, 1954/1979). At that time, it was observed that amidst

the riot, white and black workers in the war plants worked peacefully, white and black

students at Wayne University continued to attend classes together and white and black

neighbors avoided participating in riots (Allport, 1954/1979). This phenomenon,

provided the underpinnings for the development of a contact hypothesis in the 1950's and

1960's the goal of which was to integrate racial and ethnic minorities (Allport; Amir,

1969; Smart, 2001).

In the formative years of contact theory, it was believed that contact of any type between

members of the minority and majority group would change attitudes, resulting in

behavior change, particularly that of prejudice (Dixon, Durrheim, & Tredoux, 2005;