With the support of a prestigious early-career award from the American Psychological Foundation, Payton Rule, a first-year graduate student in the Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, is embarking on a project that will explore the psychological well-being of people with disabilities, a population that sometimes feels left out in an able-centric world.
“Disabled people have been underrepresented in psychological research,” said Rule, who received her undergraduate degree in philosophy-neuroscience-psychology (PNP) from WashU in 2022. “I want to find ways for society to better support the well-being of individuals with disabilities.”
For Rule, the work is deeply personal. She lives with Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, a rare genetic condition that causes muscle atrophy and weakness in her hands, legs, and feet. “Growing up in the disability community, I saw that discrimination and ableism are still really common,” she said.
“Many disabled individuals frequently encounter pity, exclusion from everyday activities, condescension, or a lack of respect compared to non-disabled individuals,” Rule said. “Such experiences imply that individuals with disabilities are less competent or less capable of leading fulfilling lives and can negatively impact disabled individuals’ well-being.”
In her one-year project, she will recruit people with disabilities who will share their daily experiences through surveys. She hopes to document their experiences with discrimination and identify specific ways society may be able to help protect those with disabilities from the psychological distress caused by unfair treatment.
“Payton is doing truly important work to improve the lives of people with disabilities,” said Assistant Professor Emily Willroth, PhD, Rule’s graduate supervisor and the co-principal investigator on the project. “In addition to her research, Payton is actively engaged in the disability community and in making the WashU community more accessible and inclusive for people with disabilities.”