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.