title: A cross-cultural comparison of perceived hazard in response to warning components and configurations: US vs. China.
abstract: There is increasing momentum towards international harmonization of warning standards. Therefore, it is critical to determine the applicability of existing standards across different cultures. Perceived hazard in response to isolated warning components (colors, signal words and symbols) and warning configurations was examined as a function of culture of the product-user (US vs. China) to determine the extent to which ANSI (American National Standards Institute)-recommended components/configurations communicate the expected level of hazard across cultures. 40 college students in the US and 43 in China rated colors, signal words, symbols, and complex configurations on a scale from 1 (not at all hazardous) to 9 (extremely hazardous). US participants consistently provided higher ratings of perceived hazard than Chinese participants. Cross-cultural differences were also observed in the relative levels of perceived hazard assigned to different levels of a label component, particularly in response to colors. However, relative levels of perceived hazard among more complex configurations were similar across culture, even though Chinese participants continued to provide lower absolute ratings of perceived hazard. These results have important implications--if it is assumed that perceived hazard-level must attain some threshold value in order to trigger compliance, then differences in perception could result in a failure of product-users to take appropriate precautions.
authors.affiliation: Liberty Mutual Research Institute for Safety, 71 Frankland Road, Hopkinton, MA 01748, USA. Mary.Lesch@LibertyMutual.com
authors.forename: Mary F
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Lesch
authors.forename: Pei-Luen Patrick
authors.initials: PL
authors.lastname: Rau
authors.forename: Zhengxuan
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.forename: Chengyi
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Liu
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D002681:China; D003142:Communication; D054521:Cultural Competency; D003469:Culture; D004521:Educational Measurement; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D006293:Health Promotion; D006801:Humans; D007391:International Cooperation; D008123:Location Directories and Signs; D008297:Male; D011356:Product Labeling; D018570:Risk Assessment; D017751:Safety Management; D040241:Social Marketing; D012938:Social Perception; D013561:Symbolism; D014481:United States