Psychophysical relation between perceived threat of AIDS and willingness to impose social restrictions

Psychophysical methods were applied to measure and analyze attitudes toward the threat and control of acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). Participants rated and gave magnitude estimations for the amount of social restriction in 12 possibilities for controlling AIDS. The relation between ratings and magnitude estimations was curvilinear, meaning that the high end of a rating scale may mask large differences in magnitudes. Perceived threat to society increased as the estimated number of people with the virus increased. The amount of social restriction imposed was a negatively accelerated growth function of increasing levels of threat. The negative acceleration was probably due to ethical considerations associated with more stringent methods of control. The methodology involved in this experiment could be useful in evaluating public attitudes toward AIDS and other complex health issues and could provide additional information for making education and policy decisions.