The Media Can Have More Than an Impersonal Impact: The Case of AIDS Risk Perceptions and Behavior

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Abstract
Two field survey studies concerning AIDS tested Tyler and Cook's (1984) impersonal- and differential-impact models of the effects of exposure to com- munication channels on perceptions of personal and social risk. Contrary to the impersonal-impact hypothesis, when media exposure was decomposed into news and entertainment, there was on impact on personal risk. Exposure to entertainment programs (e.g., movies and sitcoms) that dealt with AIDS was related to increased judgments of personal risk. The data suggest (but not conclusively) that exposure to news programs covering AIDS may have de- creased personal-risk perceptions. Perceived personal risk and, in Study 2, conversations with peers, elders, and health professionals, were related to people changing their behavior in an appropriate manner. The results have implications for media-effects studies, risk analysis, and communication cam- paigns.