Perception and evaluation of people with visible differences by the general public: A study using photo stimuli

Abstract

Objective: This study aimed to assess how the general public perceives and evaluates people with visible differences.

Methods: This study targeted 153 university and graduate students. These students were shown four photographs, and were asked to anonymously answer an originally-developed questionnaire which included items on perception and evaluation of people with visible differences. After excluding questionnaires with missing values, we analyzed data from a total of 127 participants.

Results and Discussion: High evaluation scores were obtained for five items, including “readily catching the eyes of others” and “being surprised when running into them.” This reflects difficulties experienced by people with visible differences. There were significant sex-differences in five items, including “being in a disadvantageous position when it comes to marriage” and “difficult to have a loving relationship with someone”; suggesting men evaluated people with visible differences more negatively than women. When assessing how participants perceived the reasons underlying the visible differences in free descriptions, the rate of correct answers differed by the specific reason. In particular, for port-wine stain, even in the perception group are had a low rate. These findings highlight the importance of educating the general public so that they would have accurate knowledge regarding visible differences.