A Comprehensive Examination of the Determinants for Food Risk Perception: Focusing on Psychometric Factors, Perceivers’ Characteristics, and Media Use

ABSTRACT

Risk characteristics within a psychometric paradigm have been of major concern in studies of food risk perception. This study compared the influence of psychometric factors, perceivers’ characteristics (i.e., risk attitude, trust, and favorability of the country of origin), and that of the news media on the levels of food risk perception. The interaction of news media with the other two factors was also examined. A nationwide survey (n = 1,500) was conducted. The foods under investigation were Chinese processed foods and Japanese seafood imported to South Korea. In both cases, hierarchical multiple regression analyses revealed that psychometric factors had the greatest influence on food risk perception, followed by perceivers’ characteristics and media use. In addition, our results showed that the effect of perceived benefit and dread in Chinese food were salient only for those with little media use. The implication of the interaction effect on food risk perception is discussed in terms of accessibility and limited capacity of information processing.

Acknowledgments

This research was funded by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety in South Korea (12162-763). The sponsoring agency had no further role in the writing of this article or the decision to submit the article for publication.

Notes

¹ The information on the R² changes is available from the corresponding author.

² The survey was conducted less than a year after the explosion of the Japanese nuclear power plant.