Higher authoritarianism predicts stronger AIDS stigma and punitiveness

Evidence

On a somewhat related note, Peterson, Doty, and Winter (1993) administered five items about AIDS to 278 Michigan students. All the items had significant correlations with RWA scores, running from . to .52. The . came from a statement that the “AIDS plague had been passed to decent people.” Another item, demanding that everyone with AIDS be quarantined, correlated .46. A third statement, that “‘AIDS victims have human feelings,” had an r of —.43. — Bob Altemeyer, The Authoritarian Specter, 368