The Effects of Familiarity and Risk Perception on Workplace Warning Compliance

Abstract

Consumer products cause millions of injuries every year at a total cost of billions of dollars in medical costs, lost wages and reductions in quality of life. To prevent injuries, manufacturers often place warnings on dangerous products and materials with information about proper handling and possible injuries. In order for a warning to be effective, it must be seen, read, comprehended, and followed. A breakdown in any of these stages will hinder the warning from preventing an injury. This study is a naturalistic investigation of warning compliance behavior. It evaluates the effects of a user's perceptions of the product risk and his/her familiarity with the product and brand on the nature of his/her behavior. Products were pretested to determine the familiarity and perceived risk of the products with the general user population. This data was verified with the participants in the data collection phase of the study to insure the validity of the results. Participants' familiarity with the product and their perceptions of the product's inherent risk had a significant effect on the number of safe behaviors from the warning with which they complied. Users complied with more safe behaviors when using products that were perceived as risky compared to other products of the same class that were perceived as less risky. Similarly, users complied with more safe behaviors when using brands with which they were more familiar compared to those of the same product class with which they were less familiar.