The effects of assuming a disability in changing attitudes towards persons with disabilities were assessed in 18 undergraduate students who were enrolled in an introductory rehabilitation counseling course. The subjects were instructed to engage in two levels of assumed disability (one-hand bound and two-hands bound) in three settings (private dinner, public dinner, studying in a library). Before beginning the sequence of assumed disability tasks, subjects judged pairs of 15 disabilities on a nine-point similarities scale and completed 11 attribute rating scales of the same disabilities. Both measures were readministered after all six tasks were completed. Appraisal ratings and mood adjective checklists were completed immediately after each assumed disability task, resulting in six assessments. Results support a three-dimensional (Visibility, Functional-Organic, and Severity) scaling solution of rehabilitation student's perceptions of 15 disabilities. The only significant shift from pretest to posttest occurred in the Functional-Organic dimension. The students placed more importance on the etiology of disabling conditions after undergoing the assumed disability tasks. The findings also support the assumption that cognitive changes resulting from assuming a disability are due to the threatening nature of the task, but threat need not involve negative affect. (Author/VW)