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Studies of several primate species have suggested the existence of a personality dimension typically labeled 'Sociability,' which reflects an animal's tendency to interact with others. The hypothesis that Sociability is related to social skill was tested in the present study by exposing six high- and six low-Sociable adult male rhesus macaques to videotaped presentations of unfamiliar males displaying aggressive or affiliative behaviors. Low-Sociable animals displayed higher frequencies of yawn, lower activity and tended to have higher durations of watching during the presentations that displayed social signals, and significantly fewer lipsmacks to presentations that depicted no social behavior. In response to viewing threats, tooth-grinds, yawns, and lipsmacks, both low- and high-Sociable animals' most frequent response was to gaze avert; low-Sociable animals, however, had nearly twice the latency to gaze avert than did high-Sociable animals. The low-Sociable animals' greater tendency to 'sit and stare' during the videotaped playbacks suggests that low-Sociable animals have poorer social skills. The possible developmental origins of variation in Sociability, and the functional consequences of such variation for survival and reproduction are discussed.

Objectives: This study assessed the prevalence of AIDS stigma and misinformation about HIV transmission in 1997 and 1999 and examined trends in stigma in the United States during the 1990s., Methods: Telephone surveys with national probability samples of English-speaking adults were conducted in the period 1996 to 1997 (n = 1309) and in 1998 to 1999 (n = 669). Findings were compared with results from a similar 1991 survey., Results: Overt expressions of stigma declined throughout the 1990s, with support for its most extreme and coercive forms (e.g., quarantine) at very low levels by 1999. However, inaccurate beliefs about the risks posed by casual social contact increased, as did the belief that people with AIDS (PWAs) deserve their illness. In 1999, approximately one third of respondents expressed discomfort and negative feelings toward PWAs., Conclusion: Although support for extremely punitive policies toward PWAs has declined, AIDS remains a stigmatized condition in the United States. The persistence of discomfort with PWAs, blame directed at PWAs for their condition, and misapprehensions about casual social contact are cause for continuing concern and should be addressed in HIV prevention and education programs.