Abstract
Trust is essential to understanding public reaction to innovative issues. This research focuses on trust in information sources by explicating the construct of trust and testing a comprehensive model on several information sources about genetically modified foods. Results from a survey of 369 participants reveal the significance of projecting competence and the role of the environment in which a target public receives information. Perceptions of regulatory, social, business, and technical environments affect how likely individuals are to follow advice from institutions like the Food and Drug Administration and the news media. Future research should incorporate knowledge levels and personal relevance as variables likely to influence trusting relationships.
Highlights
Trust has long been recognized as an essential element to exploring public reaction to complicated issues (Slovic, 1993), one that renders the uncertain future manageable (Luhmann, 1979)
Modified (GM) foods provide a unique context for an examination of trust in information sources as Genetically modified (GM) products remain a complicated issue with implications for consumers
The model was tested in two conditions, one investigating the relationship between trust constructs in the media and its coverage of GM foods, and the other focused on the relationship between trust constructs and trust in the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as it pertains to GM foods
Summary
Trust has long been recognized as an essential element to exploring public reaction to complicated issues (Slovic, 1993), one that renders the uncertain future manageable (Luhmann, 1979). Some argue public reaction to communication efforts is shaped less by explanations of uncertainty than by trust in the parties involved (Johnson & Slovic, 1995). This essential role of trust—defined as a willingness to depend—meshes with findings that the public’s understanding of complex issues does not always result from datadriven understandings of experts in government, media, or industry (Allum, Sturgis, Tabourazi, & Brunton-Smith, 2008; Slovic, 1993). Modified (GM) foods provide a unique context for an examination of trust in information sources as GM products remain a complicated issue with implications for consumers. Low knowledge levels allow opportunity to examine a controversial topic without automatically sparking polarized attitudes
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