The Discounting Principle and Attitudes Toward Victims of HIV Infection1

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Abstract
Reactions to victims of HIV infection often encompass not only the stigma of disease, but also the stigma of membership in a high‐risk group and the stigma of being held responsible for one's own illness. To examine the role the discounting principle might play in the evaluation of victims with multiple stigmas, 181 undergraduate students reacted to vignettes describing an HIV‐positive male. Participants received information about the mode of transmission and the sexual preference of the described victim. Results suggested that the stigma of homosexuality had a greater effect when the victim was not viewed as behaviorally responsible than when he was considered to be responsible for the illness. This finding is explained in terms of both the discounting principle and the just world theory. Implications for attitude change are discussed.

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