Abstract
During a qualitative survey we made among AIDS prevention campaigners in France, respondents stated in particular that they believed in the effectiveness of activities that prompt subjects to accomplish « mini-acts » before and after receiving persuasive arguments. As their opinion does not derive from scientific literature, we carried out an experiment, in an everyday environment with 196 subjects chosen at random and based on theories of persuasive communication and commitment, to investigate the validity of representations concerning these « mini-acts » accomplished via the Internet. The results show, in particular, that the campaigners’ intuitive beliefs are sound, since these mini-acts effectively contribute to AIDS prevention