Why do our emotions get in the way of rational decisions about safety products?

January 18, 2011

A new study in the Journal of Consumer Research explores why people reject things that can make them safer.

"People rely on airbags, smoke detectors, and vaccines to make them safe," write authors Andrew D. Gershoff (University of Texas at Austin) and Johnathan J. Koehler (Northwestern University School of Law). "Unfortunately, vaccines do sometimes cause disease and airbags sometimes injure or kill. But just because these devices aren't perfect doesn't mean consumers should reject them outright."

The authors found that people feel betrayed when they learn about the risks associated with safety products. Then their emotions get in the way of rational decision-making. The researchers studied the "betrayal effect" by looking at the example of airbags. They asked participants to choose between two cars: One was equipped with an that was less likely to ultimately save a life in the event of a serious accident. The other car had an airbag that was more likely to save a life, but it also had a tiny chance of causing death due to the force of deploying it.

Most participants avoided the airbag that had just a miniscule chance of harming them, even though by doing so, they accepted a far greater chance of being harmed in an accident.

"The findings show that people have strong when such safety devices have even a very small potential to betray them," the authors write. "So rather than weighing the costs and benefits, they will reject these options outright, even if it makes them worse off for doing so."

The authors found that providing positive images helped people make safer choices as well as presenting the information in a graphic format to facilitate rational thinking that allowed consumers to easily compare and not overemphasize risk.

Finally, the authors found that people could be influenced to make safer choices by having them make their choices for strangers rather than for themselves. "Although this last method may seem contradictory, it makes sense when one considers that people tend to be less emotional about making choices that don't involve themselves or people they care for," the authors conclude.

More information: Andrew D. Gershoff and Johnathan J. Koehler. "Safety First? The Role of Emotion in Safety Product Betrayal Aversion." Journal of Consumer Research: June 2011. Further information: http://ejcr.org

Provided by University of Chicago search and more info website

Filter


Move the slider to adjust rank threshold, so that you can hide some of the comments.


Display comments: newest first

RobertKarlStonjek
Jan 18, 2011

Rank: not rated yet
This sounds like a typical American attitude ~ I doubt that one would find the same results elsewhere. For instance compliance with seatbelt laws, acceptance of air bags and other safety equipment, acceptance of vaccines etc are much lower in the USA than other modern western countries. Of particular note, acceptance of laws that confer general safety, such as gun laws, are rejected in the USA because of the perceived necessity of owning a gun for protection, even though the chances of ever having to use a gun for that purpose are somewhere between negligible and non-existent for the average citizen.
Justsayin
Jan 20, 2011

Rank: not rated yet
Free to choose... free is the operative word.
Rank not rated yet
Relevant PhysicsForums posts
  • Consumption rivalry
    created20 hours ago
  • Bilateral trade between all countries
    createdMay 24, 2012
  • Is the economic foundation of social media in jeopardy?
    createdMay 20, 2012
  • Psychology: Rosenthal and Hawthorne Effect
    createdMay 15, 2012
  • Is GDP and National Income the Same Thing?
    createdMay 13, 2012
  • Difference between hourly wage and real GDP per hour worked?
    createdMay 12, 2012
  • More from Physics Forums - Social Sciences

More news stories

Math predicts size of clot-forming cells

UC Davis mathematicians have helped biologists figure out why platelets, the cells that form blood clots, are the size and shape that they are. Because platelets are important both for healing wounds and in strokes and other ...

Other Sciences / Mathematics

created 21 hours ago | popularity not rated yet | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Social welfare cuts ultimately come with heavy price, researchers say

(Phys.org) -- Slashing government funding for Medicaid, food stamps and other programs that serve the poor – while politically popular with some lawmakers and many conservatives – may do more harm ...

Other Sciences / Social Sciences

created May 24, 2012 | popularity 4.3 / 5 (11) | comments 95

Ancient Bethlehem seal unearthed in Jerusalem

Israeli archaeologists have discovered a 2,700-year-old seal that bears the inscription "Bethlehem," the Israel Antiquities Authority announced Wednesday, in what experts believe to be the oldest artifact ...

Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils

created May 23, 2012 | popularity 3.5 / 5 (13) | comments 22

Oldest Jewish archaeological evidence on the Iberian Peninsula

German archaeologists of the Friedrich Schiller University Jena found one of the oldest archaeological evidence so far of Jewish Culture on the Iberian Peninsula at an excavation site in the south of Portugal, ...

Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils

created May 25, 2012 | popularity 4.3 / 5 (4) | comments 12

Dollars and sense: Why are some people morally against tax?

As the U.S. presidential election campaigns heat up, the economic debate is dominated by bailouts, austerity and, inevitably, taxation. Now a new study published in Symbolic Interaction asks why tax is such an important issue ...

Other Sciences / Social Sciences

created May 23, 2012 | popularity 3 / 5 (2) | comments 12


SpotterRF debuts Radar Backpack Kit (w/ Video)

(Phys.org) -- SpotterRF has announced a special radar backpack kit designed to enhance situational awareness for soldiers on the ground. The company says its special radar is designed for warfighters as part ...

Australia hails surprise super-telescope decision

Australia has hailed a surprise decision giving it a role in a radio telescope project aimed at revolutionising astronomy, vowing to draw on its decades of experience in space science.

Astronomers seize last chance in lifetime for Venus Transit

Astronomers are gearing for one the rarest events in the Solar System: an alignment of Earth, Venus and the Sun that will not be seen for another 105 years.

SpaceX capsule has 'new car' smell, astronauts say

SpaceX's Dragon cargo vessel smells like a new car, said astronauts at the International Space Station after opening the hatches Saturday following the spacecraft's landmark mission to the orbiting lab.

Family history of Alzheimer's affects functional connectivity

(HealthDay) -- Cognitively normal individuals with a family history of late-onset Alzheimer's disease (AD) may display lower resting state functional connectivity in the default mode network (DMN) of the brain, ...

Thousands of shellfish found dead in Peru

Thousands of crustaceans were found dead off the coast of Lima following the mystery mass death of dolphins and pelicans, the Peruvian Navy said Friday.