Perceived Self- and Other-Vulnerability to AIDS: False Consensus Biases

Research has shown that individuals overestimate the degree to which they and others share similar beliefs, attitudes, and levels of risk (false consensus bias). At two points in time undergraduates who either read or imagined HIV/AIDS symptoms rated their level of vulnerability to HIV/AIDS and estimated the percentage of fellow class mates who would rate themselves similarly. When males felt vulnerable, they assumed others to be equally vulnerable; when they did not feel vulnerable, neither were their fellow classmates. Increasing disease symptom availability increased perceptions of self - but not of other\u27s vulnerability. Implications for the design of AIDS prevention programs are considered