Commentary on Joffe (1996) AIDS research and prevention: a social representation approach

Hélène Joffe's (1996) article provides us with a well-presented argument detailing the failings of Knowledge, Attitude, Belief and Practice (KABP) approaches in the domain of AIDS/HIV prevention behaviours and argues that the Theory of Social Representations (Moscovici, 1984) offers a useful alternative perspective. In this commentary I would like to expand on some of the issues she raises and to counter-argue that the case for adopting social representations theory as an alternative to KABP approaches has yet to be made convincingly. To do this I will first consider the problems surrounding traditional KABP approaches, then discuss social representations theory as an alternative and consider alternatives on the way.