Sensitivity to indirect contacts with other persons: AIDS aversion as a composite of aversion to strangers, infection, moral taint, and misfortune.

College students and their parents rated their willingness to wear sweaters previously worn by a target person described as having AIDS, another infectious illness (tuberculosis), a misfortune (maimed in automobile accident), moral taint (convicted murderer), or simply as a healthy but unknown man. Parallel ratings were obtained with respect to beds slept in or automobiles previously owned by the same set of target persons. Results indicated that there are strong individual differences in sensitivity to 4 sources of aversion to indirect interpersonal contagion: infection, misfortune, immorality, and unfamiliarity. Individual sensitivity to any one of these sources predicts sensitivity to the others (rs in the .30s). Aversion to indirect contact with a person with AIDS (by sweater, bed, or car) includes all 4 sources of aversion.