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The Effect of a Model's HIV Status on Self-Perceptions: A Self-Protective Similarity Bias

University of California, San Diego

James A. Klik

University of California, San Diego

This study examines how information about another person's HIV status influences self-erceptions and behavioral intentions. Individuals perceived their own personalities and behaviors as more dissimilar to another person's if that person's HIV status was believed positive compared with negative or unknown. This similarity bias may be viewed as self-protective in that it occurred specifically in response to potentially threatening information and on threat-relevant dimensions. There was also evidence that the similarity bias may enable individuals to reduce perceptions of personal susceptibility. Mediational analyses further suggest that the similarity bias is likely a function more of inflated ratings of the individual's own safety characteristics than of deflated ratings of the model's safety characteristics. Finally, exposure to the HIV-positive model produced greater intentions to get tested for HIV. Theoretical implications for conceptions of similarity in social comparison theory and practical considerations for media messages are considered.

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