Children’s biological causal models of disability

Abstract

The term “disability” encompasses many conditions (including a range of learning, intellectual, physical, sensory and socioemotional disorders) that can be caused by a variety of genetic, environmental, and unknown factors. We examine how children reason about the biological nature of disabilities, specifically the extent to which they use 'essentialist', 'infectious disease', or 'bodily damage' causal models. These models provide competing predictions regarding the biological nature of disability. The essentialist model views disabilities as caused by an internal essence, akin to genes, and entails thinking of disabilities as stable, immutable, and inheritable. The infectious disease model views disabilities as communicable, abnormal, and needing intervention. The bodily damage model views disabilities as resulting from injuries or toxins, which maybe stable but are not inheritable or transmissible. We review what is known about children's acquisition of these models, and discuss how disentangling these biological models is a fruitful avenue for future research.