Researcher ORCID Identifier
0009-0002-0494-4909
Graduation Year
2025
Document Type
Open Access Senior Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelor of Arts
Department
Linguistics & Cognitive Science
Reader 1
Lise Abrams
Reader 2
Megan Zirnstein
Reader 3
Sara Masland
Terms of Use & License Information
Abstract
Previous research shows bias against people with ADHD and ASD both in and outside of the classroom and demonstrates that access to a diagnosis impacts educator’s beliefs about a child. ADHD and ASD have a high level of diagnostic co-occurrence, as well as symptom overlap beneath the clinical threshold. The current study uses a vignette-length description of a student, an explicit bias questionnaire, and an Implicit Association Test to assess the relationship between implicit and explicit bias, as well as how educator bias is impacted by the diagnosis they have access to. Results suggest no statistically significant differences between explicit bias conditions and no relationship between levels of implicit and explicit bias. Presence of a diagnosis in the vignette (vs. control condition) was found to be predictive of a lower level of explicit bias. Participants shared concerns about the level of expected institutional and financial support influencing their responses on the Explicit Bias Questionnaire, raising the issue of a potential overemphasis on individual bias and underemphasis on system-level problems in education research. Future directions for research include further examinations on the impact of co-occurring symptoms on educator ratings of bias and an investigation of the quantitative impact of varied levels of institutional support on different explicit bias measures.
Recommended Citation
Rutherford, Vincent, "Behavior or Diagnosis? Comparing Explicit and Implicit Biases of School-Based Professionals Towards ADHD and ASD" (2025). Pomona Senior Theses. 364.
https://scholarship.claremont.edu/pomona_theses/364
