Shaping Responsible Behavior: Lessons from the AIDS Front

Abstract

Imagine that you are from the planet Saturn and are visiting the United States on vacation. You are eager to figure out what makes these earthlings (or at least the subset homo sapiens americanus) tick. Whatmatters to them? Whatthrills them? Whattroubles them? What moves them to action? What renders them inert? How do they deal with the stresses and strains of daily life? How do they sift throughthe barrage ofinfonnation that confronts them every day? How do they handle uncertainty? How do they deal with ambiguity? How do they address their conflicting needs and desires?