Effects of warning signal words on consumer-product hazard perceptions

This experiment investigated the influence of wal11ingsignal words and a signal icon on perceptions of hazard for consumerproducts. Under tlle pretext of a marketing research study,90 high school and college students rated product labels on variables such as product familiarity, frequency of use, and perceived hazard. Sixteen labels from actual household products were used and stored on a computer. Nine of tlle products labels were used to carry tlle nine signal word conditions. Five conditions presented the signal words NOTE, CAUTION, WARNING, DANGER, and LETHAL togetller with a brief waming message. In two other conditions a signal icon (exclamation point surrounded by a triangle) was presented together witll tlle terms DANGER and LETHAL. The final two conditions were controls, one had a waming message but had no signal word, and tlle other had no wal11ingmessage or signal word. Seven product labels were "fillers" tlJat never contained a warning. Results showed tlJatthe presence of a signal word increased perceived hazard compared to its absence. Between extreme terms (e.g., NOTE and DANGER), significant differences were noted, but not between terms usually recommended in waming design guidelines. The presence of tlle signal icon had no significant effect on hazard perception. Implications of the results and the value of the research methodology for future wamings' investigationsare discussed.