This chapter begins with a brief introduction followed by a section on theoretical perspectives from the standpoint of social psychology. The point is made in the introduction that everyone is impacted by the AIDS epidemic whether infected or not. The section on theoretical perspectives from social psychology notes that many aspects of our behavior are determined by the direct or indirect influence of others.
While no one theory can explain all aspects of people’s behavior, three general theories have been developed by social scientists over the past century to explain the motivations behind the behavior of people working in groups-role theories, learning theories, and cognitive theories. This chapter focuses primarily on role and cognitive theories that are particularly relevant to our understanding of the human and societal dimensions of HIV and AIDS.
It is explained that role theorists see roles as the fibers of the social network that link all of us. Roles link people through expectations about and understanding of roles. To explain this concept, the authors use the example of students and their relationship with professors. Each group has certain obligations and responsibilities in their roles as students or professors that differ for each role. These perceived obligations lead to real role expectations that order the interactions between students and professors. Role expectations are also known as norms. Some roles have well-defined norms that everyone agrees on, while other roles may be much less defined.
In contrast to role theories, cognitive theories focus upon the conceptions inside people’s minds, not factors in the outside world. The concept of cognitive theories is illustrated by an example of two friends who see a poster advertising a panel discussion featuring people with AIDS. It is pointed out that, because one individual has taken an AIDS class and met people with AIDS, the thoughts the poster evokes for her will be different from those of her friend, who has not taken an AIDS class and has mental images of people with AIDS based on news stories of protests. It is argued that these different mental images of people with AIDS will likely influence each girl’s decision about whether to attend the AIDS panel.
The next sections of this chapter use the two theoretical concepts of role theories and cognitive theories to understand the human and societal dimensions to living with AIDS. These theories are used to explain behavior when confronted with the news that you are HIV-infected and the process of accepting the reality of infection. Greg Louganis’ actions after bleeding in the pool during a diving competition are discussed to illustrate individual dilemmas that arise in the AIDS epidemic. ACT UP is used as one example of how people come to terms with the reality that they have AIDS and increase self-esteem by adopting new roles. The specific example of the ACT UP demonstration in a Catholic cathedral in New York also illustrates that behavior which deviates from the norm and people’s role expectations is very effective in grabbing attention.
The topic of the human dimensions of HIV and AIDS ends with a discussion of the human aspects of the opportunities and challenges of the new combination therapies, including the beneficial effects of the therapy, the high cost of treatment, and the difficulty of adherence.
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