TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2022//
TI  - The effect of safety claims on consumer chemical product perceptions and the role of warnings
JO  - Human factors
A1  - Kim, Soyun
SP  - ePub
EP  - ePub
VL  - ePub
IS  - ePub
N2  - OBJECTIVE: To assess the effect of safety claims and warnings on perceptions of consumer chemical products. <br><br>BACKGROUND: Manufacturers have two contradictory objectives: to increase sales by emphasizing the positive aspects of a product and to protect consumers from hazards of the product. One of the strategies that some manufactures have devised to achieve these goals is to use anti-warnings. Safety claims placed on consumer chemical products were examined to determine if anti-warnings influenced product perceptions. <br><br>METHOD: Two experiments were conducted. In Experiment 1, three consumer chemical products with manipulated safety claims were presented to 300 participants, who completed a survey to rate their perceptions of the products. In Experiment 2, the same products with the safety claims and added warnings were presented to 600 participants and were rated using the same measurements as Experiment 1. <br><br>RESULTS: Safety claims on product labels decreased perceived hazards compared to no safety claims on products in both Experiments 1 and 2. In Experiment 2, added warnings raised the perceived hazards. <br><br>CONCLUSION: The use of safety claims on consumer chemical products had an effect on product perceptions by decreasing hazard perceptions. The addition of strong warnings on product labels mitigated this effect.     APPLICATION: This research provides empirical evidence suggesting that the use of safety claims decreased hazard perceptions of potentially hazardous consumer chemical products and can serve as a possible form of anti-warnings.<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 0018-7208
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/00187208221107721
ID  - ref1
ER  -