Influence of Warning Label Signal Words on Perceived Hazard Level

Abstract

This experiment investigated the influence of warnings, signal words, and a signal icon on perceived hazard of consumer products. Under the guise of a marketing research study, 135 people (high school students, college students, and participants from a shopping mall) rated product labels on six dimensions, including how hazardous they perceived the products to be. A total of 16 labels from actual household products were used: 9 carried the experimental conditions, and 7 were filler product labels that never carried a warning. Five conditions presented the signal words NOTE, CAUTION, WARNING, DANGER, and LETHAL together with a brief warning message. In another two conditions, a signal icon (exclamation point surrounded by a triangle) was presented together with the terms DANGER and LETHAL. In the final two conditions, one lacked a signal word but retained the warning message, and the other lacked both the warning message and the signal word. Results showed that the presence of a signal word increased perceived product hazard compared with its absence. Significant differences were noted between extreme terms (e.g., NOTE and DANGER) but not between terms usually recommended in warning design guidelines (e.g., CAUTION and WARNING). The signal icon showed no significant effect on hazard perception. Implications of the results and the value of the methodology for future warnings investigations are discussed.

A profile of unintentional poisoning caused by household cleaning products, disinfectants and pesticides

“…The major risk factor for unintentional poisoning was that the toxic products were easily accessible. The inadequate storage in homes often led to the ingestion of those products 3,8,14,22,23,24,25 . In many instances the product was within the reach of children or was stored in beverage bottles and caused unintentional poisoning among both children and adults.…”

Formats for Section Safety Messages in Printed Manuals

“…Previous studies examined effects of including a safety alert symbol and a signal word within a colored signal word panel. Wogalter, Jarrard, and Simpson (1994) found no significant difference with or without the safety alert symbol using a perceived hazardousness rating scale. Jensen and McCammack (2003) found significantly higher ratings with the safety alert symbol using a severity scale.…”

Severity Message from Hazard Alert Symbol on Caution Signs

“…A prior study reported no significant effect on perceived hazardousness of such a symbol used with the signal words Danger and Lethal (Wogalter et al, 1994).…”