Helen Van der Sluis, Assistant Professor of Marketing
BA, Columbia University; PhD, Arizona State University
Why did you decide to set out on this research topic?
Disabled consumers make up at least 25 percent of the U.S. and 16 percent of the world, yet are a consumer segment that is rarely provided the marketplace value they seek. Indeed, disability and accessibility are topics that are important to me, so I am constantly curious about how much more we have to learn about perceptions of people with disabilities and the consequences these perceptions have.
Parts of this research were inspired by seeing some really fun, rich representations of people with disabilities in TV and movies. For example, Lauren “Lolo” Spencer plays the character Jocelyn on The Sex Lives of College Girls. It was great to see such a classic college student character pushing boundaries, seeking joy, taking risks—and who was disabled.
We wondered if there are societal perceptions about the experience of disability that make people assume that disabled and nondisabled consumers have different preferences for enjoyable versus utility-based products and services.
In our paper, we intentionally use both “disabled people” and “people with disabilities” because people have different personal preferences, where some people identify with “person-first” language because they want to be seen as a person first before their disability, and other people identify with “identity-first” language because disability feels like an important and proud part of who they are. Being mindful of both approaches is consistent with the American Psychological Association’s current suggestions and what other foundational disability researchers like Dunn and Andrews (2015) have suggested.
Is this research published anywhere yet?
Yes, in the Journal of Consumer Research.
What were your key findings?
In this research, we identify a stereotype that people have about consumers with physical disabilities. Specifically, we find that people assume that disabled consumers prefer products or services that are more utilitarian, or more functional or goal-driven (like a documentary streaming channel subscription or coffee cup attachment), more than nondisabled consumers. Similarly, people are more likely to assume that disabled consumers prefer a more fun, enjoyable product or service (like a fashion streaming channel subscription or chic coffee mug) less than nondisabled consumers do. Importantly, this assumption occurs even with additional information about a disabled person’s more hedonic, pleasurable interests.
We find that this preference stereotype happens because of unique features of the pity with which people frequently view disabled individuals. This pity leads people to have a greater desire to help disabled individuals, but also a greater likelihood of seeing their lives as unfortunate. Thus, the higher assumed preference for utilitarian items comes from people’s orientation to give help to disabled people, regardless of the person’s actual desire for help. Additionally, the lower assumed preference for hedonic items comes from people assuming that those they pity—like those with disabilities—live a life of misfortune, regardless of actual misfortune. Importantly, we find that this effect can be weakened: media representation of empowered disabled people and representation of disabled people enjoying typical daily pleasures reduce the “disability preference stereotype.”
How do the findings of your research contribute to your field?
In identifying this stereotype and finding ways to minimize it, this research points to ways in which greater, authentic, empowered visibility of people with disabilities benefits this large, yet often overlooked, consumer segment. Additionally, research on disability and accessibility has not always been widely examined in the marketing field. We hope that this work helps to highlight a variety of jumping-off points for future work in this space.
How do your research findings contribute to society (locally, regionally, nationally, globally)?
Disabled people are frequently overlooked in societal considerations, and few people outside the disability community know of the hard-fought battles disabled people have won over the years to achieve basic civil rights. We describe some of this valuable context in this research. The late disability rights activist, Judy Heumann, highlights another aspect of what we hope this research contributes to society: “I just couldn’t understand what I had to do to be seen as an ordinary person.” We identify how accessibility in public and private spaces reduces stereotyping of disabled individuals. Thus, this work highlights the importance of both (a) visibility of disabled people and their actual preferences and (b) accessibility of a variety of programs and services for people with disabilities. Particularly at a time when these two dimensions are at risk, our research suggests that increased visibility and accessibility can help to reduce stereotyping and foster dignity in the lives of people with disabilities.
Aside from your research, what is the most exciting advancement in your field right now?
Some research that I was recently excited by comes from Drs. Esther Uduehi, Julian K. Saint Clair, and Rowena Crabbe, titled “Intersectionality in Marketing: A Paradigm for Understanding Understudied Consumers.” They provide a framework for utilizing an intersectional perspective in marketing research and underscore the immense value of such approaches. In it, they provide helpful, concrete, and in many cases, incredibly simple steps to do so, and suggest exciting future intersectional research directions that capture societal, consumer, and organizational lenses. Throughout, the authors effectually illustrate that more precisely capturing the systems and “interconnected consumer lived experiences” will only strengthen what marketers and consumer researchers know about consumers and the marketplace.