Modifying attitudes about modified foods: Increased knowledge leads to more positive attitudes
Section snippets
Modifying attitudes about modified foods: increased knowledge leads to more positive attitudes
Since their introduction to the commercial market in the 1990s, genetically modified (GM) foods have received vitriolic opposition from the public based on concerns about possible environmental and health risks. Several campaigns have sought to mandate the labeling of GM foods in the US (Charles, 2014; Mayer, 2015; Nep & O'Doherty, 2013), and GM foods are already highly regulated in many European markets (e.g., Devos et al., 2006; Frewer, van der Lans, Fischer, Reinders, Menozzi, Zhang … &
Participants
Data were obtained from the General Social Survey 2006cohort (Smith, Marsden, Hout, & Kim, 2017). A total of 778 individuals (351 male) responded to the relevant question set. Participants were 76% white, 16% black, 9% other, with an average age of 46.43 years (SD = 16.84), and an average of 13.86 years of education (SD = 2.86).
Materials and procedure
GM Foods. The main dependent variable was whether participants reported they would eat GM foods, and they responded on a scale of 1 (don't care if foods have been
Participants
We recruited 747 U.S. participants from university undergraduates (n = 262) and through the Research Match health survey recruitment system (n = 485). For simplicity, we aggregate these data here, though results did not differ when the samples were analyzed individually. The survey was titled “Opinions about health topics.” We excluded 66 participants for failing at least one attention check question (e.g. select agree and continue on; Maniaci & Rogge, 2014). An additional four were excluded
Study 3
Study 2 highlighted the importance of domain-specific GM knowledge in relation to attitudes, but sampled from US samples only, who may have a different relationship with GM knowledge as compared to individuals from other, for example European, countries. Study 3 was therefore conducted as a multiple-country replication of Study 2, following the same procedures and using the same materials as Study 2. Sample size was estimated based on underestimating the effects observed in Study 2: to observe
Study 4
The previous studies were correlational but were designed as a foundation for understanding how to change attitudes; thus, a final study used an experimental design to inform a causal understanding of the relation between GM-specific knowledge and GM attitudes. Thus, Study 4 involved a longitudinal, five-part online survey in which participants completed surveys weekly for five weeks. Though the study was not preregistered, the procedures and analysis plan were determined a priori. There were
General discussion
Our data suggest that a lack of domain-specific knowledge about GM technology is a strong and unique predictor of attitudes towards GM foods. Crucially, GM-specific knowledge predicts attitudes towards GM food above and beyond general science knowledge and relevant demographic controls, supporting the hypotheses. Further, the unique predictive value of GM knowledge was in evidence across three countries: the U.S., the U.K., and the Netherlands (Study 3). Finally, results from a longitudinal
Ethics approval
All studies were approved or declared exempt by the ethics boards at the respective universities.
Data availability
Data and materials are available at the following Open Science Framework link: https://osf.io/4tuhb/?view_only=34a9e09f40cf49c3917e346c8391159f.
References (48)
- et al.
Psychological essentialism and stereotype endorsement
Journal of Experimental Social Psychology
(2006) - et al.
Fatal attraction: The intuitive appeal of GMO opposition
Trends in Plant Science
(2015) - et al.
Public perceptions of agri-food applications of genetic modification–a systematic review and meta-analysis
Trends in Food Science & Technology
(2013) - et al.
Caring about carelessness: Participant inattention and its effects on research
Journal of Research in Personality
(2014) - et al.
Attitudes towards science
(2018) - et al.
Implicit attitudes towards genetically modified (GM) foods: A comparison of context-free and context-dependent evaluations
Appetite
(2006) - et al.
Science knowledge and attitudes across cultures: A meta-analysis
Public Understanding of Science
(2008) Education and public attitudes toward science: Implications for the “deficit model” of education and support for science and technology
Social Science Quarterly
(2001)The cognitive monster: The case against the controllability of automatic stereotype effects
- et al.
A critical appraisal of models of public understanding of science: Using practice to inform theory
Of deficits, deviations and dialogues: Theories of public communication of science
Handbook of public communication of science and technology
Conducting IAT research within online surveys: A procedure, validation, and open source tool
Why the ‘non-GMO’ label is organic's frenemy
An empirical investigation of the role of knowledge in public opinion about GM food
International Journal of Biotechnology
Genetic essentialism: On the deceptive determinism of DNA
Psychological Bulletin
The interplay between societal concerns and the regulatory frame on GM crops in the European Union
Environmental Biosafety Research
Individuals with greater science literacy and education have more polarized beliefs on controversial science topics
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Understanding the process of moralization: How eating meat becomes a moral issue
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
Extreme opponents of genetically modified foods know the least but think they know the most
Nature Human Behavior
The influence of initial attitudes on responses to communication about genetic engineering in food production
Agriculture and Human Values
Communicating about the risks and benefits of genetically modified foods: The mediating role of trust
Risk Analysis
Understanding and using the implicit association test: I. An improved scoring algorithm
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
Understanding and using the implicit association test: III. Meta-analysis of predictive validity
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
Public perceptions of labeling genetically modified foods
Work. Pap., Rutgers School Environ. Biol. Sci.
Cited by (56)
Social influence and reduction of animal protein consumption among young adults: Insights from a socio-psychological model
2023, Journal of Environmental PsychologySpirituality is associated with Covid-19 vaccination scepticism
2023, VaccineCitation Excerpt :Second, designing educational programs to increase people’s basic scientific knowledge could further tackle the problem of high scepticism associated with low science literacy and reduce the feeling that science is counterintuitive. Previous research has shown promising effects of educational programs on science acceptance in the domain of genetically modified foods [22]. The current findings contribute to the accumulating body of research on attitudes towards science by demonstrating that self-identified spirituality is a crucial individual difference predictor of scepticism towards Covid-19 vaccination.
Consumer attitudes toward novel agrifood technologies: a critical review on genetic modification and synthetic biology
2022, Present Knowledge in Food Safety: A Risk-Based Approach through the Food ChainHow others drive our sense of understanding of policies
2021, Behavioural Public PolicyA review on regulatory aspects, challenges and public perception in acceptance of genetically modified foods
2024, Food Science and Biotechnology