Symbolic Prejudice or Fear of Infection? A Functional Analysis of AIDS-Related Stigma Among Heterosexual Adults

To determine whether attitudes toward a stigmatized group are primarily instrumental or symbolic, multiple aspects of AIDS stigma were assessed in a 2-wave telephone survey with a national probability sample of adults (N = 382). Using responses to the Attitude Functions Inventory, respondents were categorized according to the dominant psychological function served by their attitudes: (a) evaluative (based on instrumental concerns about personal risk for infection), or (b) expressive (based on a need to affirm one's self-concept by expressing personal values). Negative affect toward a person who contracted AIDS through homosexual behavior, support for mandatory testing of so-called high-risk groups, and support for other punitive AIDS policies were predicted mainly by attitudes toward gay men for heterosexuals with expressive attitudes but not for those with evaluative attitudes, a pattern labeled functional divergence. Behavioral intentions to avoid persons with AIDS in various hypothetical situations were predicted primarily by beliefs about contagion for heterosexuals with expressive and evaluative attitudes alike, a pattern labeled functional consensus. Implications for AIDS education and for research based on the functional approach to attitudes are discussed.