The typical image of a successful negotiator is someone who is competent, confident, and in control. This characteristic does not necessarily apply to people with disabilities. The two researchers wanted to understand whether people with disabilities are more stigmatized in intense jobs, such as potentially controversial price-based negotiations. If so, is this bias more pronounced for women and people with invisible disabilities? We asked 2,000 people to conduct an online experiment in which they recorded a negotiation involving an employee named “Alex.” They were read aloud and evaluated for honesty and competency. In addition to representing Alex as male or female, the experiment also depicts him as having no disability, a visible disability (sitting in a wheelchair), an invisible disability (called paroxysmal epilepsy), and a visual disability. It was expressed in various ways, such as having an invisible disability (supposedly bipolar disorder). . They found that people who saw Alex as a man with a visible disability rated him as having more integrity and competence than any other version. That effect disappeared when Alex was female. When Alex was described as having bipolar disorder, the male version was perceived as less conscientious, while the female version was perceived as less conscientious and appearing less competent. Their results speak to the added burden of discrimination faced by people with mental illnesses, especially women who appear to face a “double bind” at the intersection of stigmatized categories.
