Accentuate the negative: Social images in the prediction and
promotion of condom use
Hart Blanton, Regina J.J. M. VandenEijnden, Bram P. Buunk,
Frederick X. Gibbons, Meg Gerrard, Arnold Bakker
(2001) Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 31(2), 274-295.
On the basis of the negativity bias in person perception, the
authors argue that behavioral decisions related to condom use are influenced by
the social images that an individual has of people who do not use condoms, but
that they are not influenced by the social images that an individual has of
people who do use condoms. Three
studies with college student samples indicated that the negative evaluations of
people who do not use condoms predicts willingness to have sex without
condoms. In contrast, positive
evaluations of people who so use condoms showed no unique predictions. A fourth study demonstrated that a health
message emphasizing the negative social consequences of having sex without
condoms decreased willingness to have unsafe sex in comparison to a control,
whereas a message that emphasized the positive social consequences of using
condoms had no such effects on willingness.