MAGICAL CONTAGION AND AIDS RISK PERCEPTION IN A COLLEGE POPULATION

This study examined whether common reactions to AIDS are consistent wi th operation of the ''magical law of contagion,'' a traditional belief that describes the transfer of properties, whether moral or physical, harmful or beneficial, through contact. Three features of magical con tagion, explored in previous work, were re-examined. These features so metimes contrast with microbial contamination as described by modern g erm theory. They are: permanence of effects; dose-insensitivity; and p otential for effects to act backwards (i.e., from recipient back onto source). A fourth characteristic, previously unaddressed, was also exp lored: ''moral-germ conflation,'' i.e., the tendency to incompletely d istinguish illness from evil. Three hundred and ninety-nine college st udents completed a survey assessing each feature with regard to AIDS-r elated scenarios. Also assessed was general AIDS knowledge. Subjects w ere very well-informed about AIDS, yet a significant subset showed ''m agical'' features of thinking. Consistent with moral-germ conflation, degree of worry about getting AIDS was better predicted by guilt than by risk behaviors and knowledge that they are risky. Implications are discussed.