Reactions to AIDS Victims: Ambiguity Breeds Contempt

The present study investigated the causes of negative reactions towards AIDS victims. Fifty-eight subjects rated the personal responsibility and interactional desirability of eight hypothetical disease victims who varied on their sexual preference (homosexual/heterosexual) and on their diagnosis (AIDS/serum hepatitis/Legionnaire's disease/genital herpes). While the homosexual victims were rated more personally responsible for their disease and AIDS victims were rated the least interactionally desirable, no support was found for a victim derogation (Lerner, 1966, 1970) interpretation of these phenomena. The results are interpreted as suggesting instead that the reaction against AIDS victims reflects a fear of the unknown causes of the disease, coupled with a general prejudice against homosexuals.