When it's good to feel bad: how responses to virtual environments predict real-life sexual risk-reduction

Abstract

UnrestrictedWe examined relationships between sexual risk-taking and self-conscious negative affect following exposure to a narrative-based HIV-prevention video. The intervention, designed for men who have sex with men, simulates the interpersonal, emotional, and contextual cues of a sexual scenario. One group viewed an interactive version of the video in which they actively made decisions. A second group passively viewed a non-interactive version. Subjects reporting higher levels of post-intervention negative affect experienced greater subsequent risk-reduction, F(1, 96) = 13.1, p < .001. This effect was qualified by a significant interaction with interactivity, F(1, 96) = 9.62, p = .003, such that the relationship between higher negative affect and risk-reduction was much stronger in the interactive condition. The findings suggest that interactivity plays a critical role in the intervention's ability to link affect with subsequent behavior. Unlike traditional approaches, our intervention may result in the automatic encoding of affective cautionary signals