INTERPERSONAL DETERMINANTS OF FEAR OF PEOPLE WITH AIDS - THE MODERATING ROLE OF PREDICTABLE BEHAVIOR

Participants imagining contact with a person with or without AIDS show ed more anxiety and avoidance of indirect physical contact for the for mer than the latter target. As predicted from cognitive models of fear dispositions or phobias, these differential reactions appeared to be dependent on the extent to which the target was presented as having pe rsonal attributes that indicate high predictability. In particular, pa rticipants were more reluctant to engage in indirect physical contact with a person with AIDS than with a healthy person when this person di splayed impulsive and unpredictable behavior. No differential reaction s were revealed when the target person showed self-controlled and pred ictable behavior. Differential anxiety reactions were further dependen t on the target's sexual orientation and participants' sex. Practical implications for the interaction strategies that persons with AIDS may employ during self-disclosure of AIDS are discussed.