Affective Influences on Risk Perceptions of, and Attitudes Toward, Genetically Modified Food

Abstract

Much has been written about risk perceptions and public understanding of genetically modified (GM) food, yet little if any of the academic writings on this topic take into account the role of feelings or affect in these processes. Here, the available literature on the topic of GM food is explored in order to highlight findings consistent with the notion that feelings about GM food are important in shaping judgements about it. Using evidence emerging from the burgeoning literature in the domain of risk and feelings, an exploration of the role of affect is shown to be an important direction for future research on the perceived risks associated with GM food. The potential effects of incidental and integral affect are considered, and the importance of using rigorous social science methods is stressed. To increase understanding of the role of feelings in making judgements and decisions about GM food, future studies should consider measuring integral and incidental affect in addition to other key factors such as the vividness of imagery associated with GM, knowledge, perceived need, perceived benefits and trust.

Keywords:

• Affect
• emotion
• feelings
• risk perception
• GM food

Acknowledgements

A Programme Grant to IGBiS from the Leverhulme Trust supported this research. I thank Dr Scott Campbell for his very helpful comments on an earlier draft of this paper.