Explicit stigma and implicit biases toward autism in South Korea versus the United States.

Researchers compared how people in South Korea and the US feel about autism. Korean participants wanted more distance from autistic people and had more negative automatic thoughts about autism than Americans. However, in both countries, people who knew more about autism and had positive experiences with autistic people wanted to be closer to them. The study suggests cultural differences may affect attitudes toward autism.

This cross-cultural study examined explicit attitudes and implicit biases toward autism in South Korea versus the United States. Korean participants reported wanting greater social distance from autistic individuals compared to Americans and showed more negative implicit associations with autism. Interestingly, explicit attitudes were not correlated with implicit biases in either culture. In both countries, autism knowledge and positive contact experiences were associated with reduced desire for social distance.

However, in Korea, participants with stronger assimilationist beliefs (expecting cultural conformity from immigrants) showed greater desire for distance from autistic people. The authors suggest this may reflect Korea's cultural homogeneity and propose that multicultural education could improve attitudes toward autism.

Findings suggest culturally-tailored autism awareness programs may be needed. Contact-based interventions and education appear promising across cultures. Addressing cultural homogeneity concerns may improve autism acceptance, particularly in collectivist societies like South Korea.

Sample size not reported. Study type unclear from abstract. Cross-sectional design limits causal inferences. Cultural measurements may not capture full complexity of attitudes. Limited detail on methodology and participant characteristics provided in abstract.

How people report their feelings about autism may be different from how they actually think about autism because some people may not want to reveal their true feelings. People who value the group's goal tend to present themselves as more socially acceptable than people who value one person's interests. We studied how people in South Korea and the United States report their feelings about autism and think about autism. Koreans tend to value the group's goals.

Americans tend to prefer one person's goals. Koreans reported that they wanted more space from autistic people than Americans did. Koreans were more likely to think about autism with negative words (and think more negatively about autism). How Koreans and Americans report their feelings about autism was not related to their thoughts about autism.

People who knew about autism and liked meeting with autistic people wanted to get closer to autistic people in South Korea and the US, Koreans who had met autistic people and thought that people who newly came to Korea from abroad should be more like Koreans did not want to get very close to autistic people. This could be because very few foreign people live in South Korea compared to the United States. Teaching Koreans that all cultures have values and should be appreciated will help them like autistic people more.