How consumers’ perception and information processing affect their acceptance of genetically modified foods in China: A risk communication perspective

Abstract

The full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-prot purposes provided that:• a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in DRO • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders.

An Experimental Evidence on Public Acceptance of Genetically Modified Food through Advertisement Framing on Health and Environmental Benefits, Objective Knowledge, and Risk Reduction

“…Likewise, the result of MG-CFA verified the substantial variance in the influence of the attitude on acceptance of GMF across the four groups. This is also consistent with past studies that affirmed that the public, in case of community or market acceptance, remain more mindful to choice regarding sensitive things, such as food [ 19 , 20 ]. However, interestingly, it was validated that the valence or frame of issues (health), which is considered more personal and can be more concerning to them, remained more effective (β = 0.52).…”

“…Therefore, messages from well-respected sources can be an effective way to develop acceptance. The results of H1 about the direct influence of knowledge on perceived risk reduction (group 1 β = 0.22, group 2 β = 0.27, group 3 β = 0.09, and group 4 β = 0.07) are consistent with several psychological theoretical paradigms that describe how individuals observe threats and how they process risk information to act [ 20 , 39 ]. For instance, our results showed that participants that were exposed to the ad messages containing expert opinions experienced a greater reduction in perceived risks about GMF (see Figure 4 ).…”

“…To this end, the literature has verified the assumption that individuals generally show more interest in the benefits and rely on cognitive shortcuts, such as an appealing message in terms of the source and action-related cues. Past studies also argue that people desire messages about technology-related products, specifically when they are uncertain about the acceptance [ 20 , 36 ]. Therefore, messages from well-respected sources can be an effective way to develop acceptance.…”

“…On the other hand, some GMF consumers use GMF without knowing it, based on assumptions that GMF has never harmed anyone. Therefore, it is quite evident that public perceptions about GMF can influence the degree of its acceptance [ 18 , 19 , 20 ]. The apparent elucidation of this phenomenon is that most consumers rely on expert opinions, media reports, and advertisements to acquire knowledge about GMF products’ benefits, as well as risks [ 21 ].…”

The Effects of Epistemic Trust and Social Trust on Public Acceptance of Genetically Modified Food: An Empirical Study from China

“…Most people do not possess elaborated knowledge about GMF [ 20 , 80 , 81 ]. One way to cope with this lack of knowledge and capacities is to rely on others to evaluate and manage an associated hazard.…”