The study design involved a modified pretest/post-test control group procedure. Both control and experimental groups completed the pretest and the delayed post-test. Following an educational intervention, the experimental group also completed an immediate post-test containing only the knowledge items. Undergraduate students enrolled in introductory communication courses at a large midwestern university volunteered to participate in the study. Several hypotheses were tested concerning the effectiveness of the educational presentation and the influence of extreme attitudes toward gay men and lesbians to evaluate the learning and retention of information. Results demonstrated that the educational presentation produced significant increases in knowledge about AIDS and HIV transmission and that there was good retention of information. Students with extremely positive attitudes toward gay men and lesbians learned more about AIDS than students with extremely negative attitudes. Findings suggest that the conditioning of antigay attitudes toward the AIDS epidemic has an important influence on the extent to which students learn information about psychosoical aspects of AIDS. 17 references (Author abstract modified)