Cognitive Constraints Underlying Models of Disability: A New Paradigm in Disability Study

Introduction and aim: Studies on the models of disability have been conducted almost exclusively within a sociological perspective. The authors have carried out studies aimed at verifying whether the disability models are attributable not only to contextual variables but also to universal and species-specific human cognitive constraints. The purpose is the implementation of three paradigms in order to investigate three experimental objectives: (i) the strength of the implicit association built on two disability models, the medical and the social; (ii) how much of a particular disability model believed by an individual is related to environment; (iii) the functioning of the cognitive mechanism related to the medical model. Method: Development of a logical design of a research paradigm on disability study. Results: Three experimental paradigms are analytically presented aiming at: (i) identifying which of the two models can be traced to implicit associations characterized by the greater predictive power with respect to beliefs on disability; (ii) checking the assumptions about the non-contextual features of disability models; (iii) investigating the mental architecture of cognitive processes underlying the models of disability. Conclusion: The authors wish the three paradigms to be subjected to experimental examination by the scientific community.