Air pollution and green consumption of consumers in China’s urban areas: a norm activation perspective

Abstract

This study aims to explore how consumers’ psychological factors affect their pro-environment purchasing behavior in a smog-ridden city. Based on the Protective Action Decision Model and Heuristic–Systematic Model, this study proposed a model to investigate consumers’ decision-making process in purchasing green anti-smog products. It also provided new empirical evidence for the role of personal norms on consumers’ green consumption behavior by examining the differences between two groups of consumers (i.e., green and non-green) through a multi-group path analysis. The predictions were tested using a questionnaire survey of 1,124 participants living in the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei region of China. Results indicated that product knowledge, smog knowledge, risk perception, and systematic processing positively affected consumers’ purchase intention. In addition, the significant differences of consumers with various personal norms in purchase decision-making were found in the current study. In the green group, product knowledge positively affected consumers’ risk perceptions and systematic processing intentions. Information seeking increased their purchase intentions. However, these relationships were not significant in the non-green group. This study contributes to the existing literature by linking consumers’ protective behaviors with green consumption and providing a comprehensive model for predicting consumers’ purchase decisions.     

Public smog knowledge,risk perception,and intention to reduce car use: Evidence from China

ABSTRACT

Smog pollution has received widely attention in recent years due to its negative effects. There is consensus that the motor vehicle exhaust emission is one of the sources of smog pollution and reduced private car use would significantly improve the air quality and alleviate the smog pollution problem. In this research, we aim to investigate how public smog knowledge and risk perception (physical health risk perception and mental health risk perception) affect public attitude and intention to reduce car use. A questionnaire survey of 334 randomly sampled respondents was designed to test these relationships. The results show that public smog knowledge is positively and significantly related to physical health risk perception, mental health risk perception, attitude and intention to reduce car use. Public smog knowledge has the largest impact on intention to reduce car use. Furthermore, physical health risk perception and mental health risk perception are positively and significantly associated with attitude and intention to reduce car use. In addition, the results also indicated that public smog knowledge is at a low level. Based on the results, implications and suggestions for future research were discussed.     

Comparison of U.S. and Japanese Consumers’ Perceptions of Remanufactured Auto Parts

This study compares U.S. and Japanese consumers’ perceptions of remanufactured auto parts. Remanufactured parts have a long history and enjoy continuing success in the U.S. domestic aftermarket. In contrast, although Japan's domestic aftermarket is growing, it remains comparatively underdeveloped. This research examines whether customers’ perceptions of remanufactured products explain their lower acceptance in Japan. Our Internet survey of 440 U.S. and 300 Japanese respondents examined their knowledge of remanufactured auto parts, perceptions of their benefits and risks, and price consciousness. The results reveal that Japanese consumers know less about remanufactured products, perceiving them as entailing lower benefits and greater risk, especially concerning quality, and are less price conscious. Drawing on its results, this study suggests measures to promote markets for remanufactured auto parts in Japan and in economies in which such markets are in an early stage of development.     

Risk Perception,Risk-Taking Attitude,and Hypothetical Behavior of Active Volcano Tourists

To help understand what determines an individual's risk-taking attitude and behavior of tourists visiting a volcano, an interview survey of 523 adults was undertaken in Mt. Aso, an active volcano in Japan where guidance is designed to prohibit visitors with cardio-pulmonary disorders from ascending to the crater. The survey included the individual's knowledge of the prohibition regulation, their risk perception of life-threat to volcanic gas and risk-taking attitude toward the prohibition. Their hypothetical risk-taking behavior assuming their being accompanied by a health risk companion was also investigated. A logistic regression model was used to assess the effects of various factors on the specific risk perception, attitude, and behavior. In a different model, how the risk perception and knowledge would affect attitude and behavior was also assessed. Those having knowledge of the guidance significantly employed a high perception of the risk (OR, 0.45: 95% CI, 0.27–0.73). Those with low risk perception significantly opposed to the current regulation (OR, 2.56:95% CI, 1.63–4.03). However, if subjects possessed health problems, they were more likely to visit the crater when they were asked to do so by their accompanying health risk subjects (2.89:1.28–6.52). Improving the specific risk perception might have beneficial effect on risk-taking attitude and behavior.     

Risk perception of air pollution: An exploration of self-relevancy

Air pollution is a serious environmental issue that has been long recognized. Whereas government policies attempt to reduce air pollution by controlling various pollution sources, research on risk perception of air pollution tends to treat air pollution as a single unified risk and neglects the complication of the polluting sources. Previous research consistently demonstrates that lay people have an inaccurate understanding of air pollution and are unwilling to change their behaviors to decrease pollution. However, these findings can hardly be employed in policy-making because researchers and policy-makers treat air pollution differently. The aim of the present study is to obtain a nuanced understanding of people's risk perception of air pollution from different sources. Moreover, we propose a new risk dimension, Self-Relevancy, and try to understand people's reluctance to change their behaviors to reduce pollution. Three main findings emerged. First, we demonstrated that people perceived each air pollution source differently. Second, factor analysis of risk characteristics showed that ratings of Self-Relevancy questions mainly loaded on the same factor, which indicates the robustness of the Self-Relevancy risk dimension. Finally, we found that people's ratings of Self-Relevancy positively predicted their perceived risk for some of the pollution sources. These findings highlight the importance of investigating sub-categories of risks and exploring the risk dimension of Self-Relevancy in future risk perception research to provide detailed and informative data for policy-makers.     

Americans' Nanotechnology Risk Perception:

Although proposed nanotechnology applications hold great promise, little is known about the potential associated risks. This lack of clarity on the level of risk associated with nanotechnology has forced people to make decisions about consumption with incomplete information. A national random digit dialing telephone survey (N= 1014) was conducted in the United States to assess knowledge of nanotechnology and perception of risk in August 2006. This investigation looks critically at individuals' responses to questions about the balance of risks and benefits of nanotechnology, both at the outset of the survey and after respondents were given a brief introduction to the potential benefits and risks of the technology. Models were created to characterzise respondents who said they did not know how nanotechnology's risks and benefits balanced in the “preinformation” condition but who, in the postinformation condition, had a different opinion. Respondents who were highly educated, members of the Republican Party, or male were more likely to switch from “don't know” in the preinformation condition to “benefits outweigh risks” in the postinformation condition, whereas respondents who were less educated, members of the Democratic Party, or female were more likely to switch from “don't know” in the preinformation condition to “risks outweigh benefits” in the postinformation condition. This is the first study to our knowledge to develop a significant model of nanotechnology risk perception change, specifically with regard to gender differences. The power of information provision to sway opinions is also supported, highlighting the importance of developing educational efforts targeting vulnerable populations.     

Who is susceptible to perceive higher smog-induced health risk? Comparative analysis between physical and mental health dimensions

Abstract

Smog pollution can significantly affect the health of skilled workers. This paper explores the concept, structure and characteristics of smog-induced health risk perception. Based on face-to-face interviews with 30 skilled workers in a smog pollution area of China and quantitative analysis, we determined the dimensions of smog-induced health risk perception. The different effects of demographic variables on the dimensions of smog-induced health risk perception were investigated through 715 questionnaires distributed to skilled workers living in areas polluted by smog. The results showed that smog-induced health risk perception is a two-dimensional concept. We found that 86.3% of skilled workers perceived that physical health risk level was higher than mental health risk level. One-third of the population in most groups perceived higher degree of physical health risk than that of mental health risk, but the difference between physical and mental health risk for them was small. Moreover, skilled workers with a high level of smog-induced health risk perception were distributed mainly in groups of long employment duration, older skilled workers and skilled workers living in areas severely polluted by smog. Based on our results, we propose practical suggestions to help government, enterprises and skilled workers improve physical and mental health of skilled workers.     

Influence of information about specific absorption rate (SAR) upon customers' purchase decisions and safety evaluation of mobile phones

This study investigated whether the SAR value is a purchase-relevant characteristic of mobile phones for laypersons and what effect the disclosure of a precautionary SAR value has on laypersons' risk perception. The study consisted of two parts: Study part 1 used a conjoint analysis design to explore the relevance of the SAR value and other features of mobile phones for an intended buying decision. Study part 2 used an experimental, repeated measures design to examine the effect of the magnitude of SAR values and the disclosure of a precautionary SAR value on risk perception. In addition, the study included an analysis of prior concerns of the study participants with regard to mobile phone risks. Part 1 indicates that the SAR value has a high relevance for laypersons' purchase intentions. In the experimental purchase setting it ranks even before price and equipment features. The results of study part 2 show that providing information of a precautionary limit value does not influence risk perception. This result suggests that laypersons' underlying subjective "safety model" for mobile phones resembles more a "margin of safety" concept than a threshold concept. The latter observation holds true no matter how concerned the participants are.     

The impact of consumer familiarity on edible insect food product purchase and expected liking: The role of media trust and purchase activism

This study aims to investigate the impact of consumer familiarity with edible insect food products on purchase intentions and expected liking. Based on persuasion and information processing theories, this study examines the roles of media trust and purchase activism as underlying psychological mechanisms. The findings of this study indicate that consumer familiarity contributes to the formation of media trust. It adds credibility to the media information and consumers can be more motivated to exercise their purchase activism as the edible insect food movement is closely related to social causes like sustainability. Activist motivation, then, changes consumers' behavioral outcomes such as purchase intention and expected liking of edible insect food products.     

Company disclosure and consumer perceptions of the privacy implications of direct-to-consumer genetic testing

This study examines the way direct-to-consumer genetic testing (DTCGT) companies communicate privacy information and how consumers understand privacy implications of DTCGT. We first conducted an analysis of DTCGT websites to determine what information they provide regarding the treatment of consumer information and samples. 86 companies offered DTCGT services that could be purchased online from Canada. We then surveyed 415 consumers (180 had purchased, 235 considered but did not purchase DTCGT). While most websites had some privacy information, few provided sufficient information for consumers to make informed purchase decisions. Nearly half of participants reported reading the company’s privacy policy and many felt they received enough information about privacy implications, but their expectations were generally not consistent with company practices. The most common expectation was that the company would share results only with them and destroy their sample after testing. We discuss these issues regarding privacy expectations in the context of DTCGT.     

Schoolchildren's earthquake knowledge,preparedness, and risk perception of a seismic-prone region of Mexico

The paper presents results of a cross-sectional study regarding schoolchildren's seismic risk perception, awareness, and preparedness in a sample size of 817 in the state of Oaxaca, Mexico. The approach is the application of a questionnaire survey. The main conclusion is that schoolchildren considered in the study are vulnerable to earthquakes due to the lack of a seismic education program. Some relevant results are summarized as follows: (1) over 50% of schoolchildren reported “little fear,” about 25% reported “a lot of fear” during earthquakes, and 19.4% reported low levels of perceived coping abilities; (2) male children get less afraid and show an increased degree of belief in their ability to cope emotionally with earthquakes than females; (3) about 50% of schoolchildren showed deficiencies in knowledge about earthquakes; (4) older schoolchildren (fifth to sixth grade) are more knowledgeable on earthquakes than younger ones (third to fourth grade); (5) a significant number of schoolchildren are not well prepared for what to do before, during, and after an earthquake; and (6) in general, urban schoolchildren are better prepared toward earthquakes than semi-rural schoolchildren.     

Asocial memories, ‘poisonous knowledge’, and haunting in Mongolia

This article argues that memories that come from contexts that are adversarial, and that are not always based on communication and sociality, should be better integrated within the existing theories of social memory. Shamans in postsocialist Mongolia claim that previously suppressed origin spirits demand that their descendants become initiated as shamans in exchange for ceasing to harass them for forgetting and abandonment. Some clients refuse to become initiated as shamans and thus choose to sever their relationship with their past. In this article I explore one such refusal, which led to a disintegration of existing social ties, while also yielding unexpected memories. These memories are different from the shared memories that emerge in the context of organized shamanic rituals. Circulated through rumour and supposition instead of positive sociality and sharing, these ‘asocial’ memories also act as a particular kind of ‘poisonous knowledge’, prompting each individual to withdraw from the network as a way of avoiding the alleged harm from unattended spirits. Owing to divergent subject positioning, where one person's remembering is another's forgetting, the haunting by unwanted memories continues, as resolution through unifying communal ritual is not possible.     

Care Giver Perception of Children's Obesity‐Related Health Risk: A Study of African American Families

Objective: To examine care giver perception of children's weight‐related health risk in African American families. Research Methods and Procedures: One‐hundred and eleven families (representing 48 boys and 63 girls) screened for participation in a diabetes prevention study participated. Care givers completed a health awareness questionnaire that assessed their perception of the child's weight, eating habits, appearance, exercise habits, and health risk. The care givers also reported each subject's family history of obesity, diabetes, and other chronic diseases. After a physical examination, height and weight were used to compute an age‐ and sex‐adjusted body mass index for each child. Results: Despite the fact that a substantial number of children were obese (57%) and super‐obese (12%), only 44% of the care givers perceived the child's weight to be a potential health problem. Regression analysis showed that 21% of the variance in parental perception of obesity‐related health risk could be predicted by child age, body mass index, perception of frame size, and perception of exercise habits. Discussion: A number of reasons for the apparent minimization of child health risk are discussed, including cultural differences in the acceptance of a large body habitus, lack of knowledge about the connection between childhood obesity and future health risk, and an optimistic bias in the perception of personal health risk.     

Politicizing place perception: a phenomenology of urban activism in Istanbul

Phenomenology intuits that people's perception of the environment is related to their lived activities, emotions, and perspectives, and is in this process also temporally experienced. This article applies these insights to political activism, exploring its conditioning of militants’ sensory experience of the city and showing how militants’ urban knowledge is intimately connected to political practices of organizing, mobilizing, and agitating, each orientated in turn by the pursuit of revolution. Based on fieldwork in Istanbul with ex‐militants and their memories of political action from the years immediately before and after the 1980 military coup, the article applies and extends phenomenological understandings of place perception to explore their changing experiences of the city. This quality of perception as a temporal process is vital for understanding both historical and contemporary features of ex‐militants’ remembering of Istanbul, related as they are to a state project to shape and simplify public knowledge of their activities, and to certain political developments posited by activists themselves as efficacious in transforming the meaning of their past acts. It concludes by illustrating how these two processes come together in the recent institution by ex‐militants of a new museum (12 September Museum of Shame), opened some thirty years after the events it objectivizes.     

An application of the risk perception attitude framework in food safety behavior

An important part of consumers' ability to choose and consume safe food is their level of trust in the information and labeling provided by governments or companies. This study classifies consumers into four groups with similar characteristics regarding food safety issues, using data from the 2016 “Research on Food Consumption Behavior” compiled by the Korea Rural Economic Institute. Using risk perception and efficacy beliefs for food safety, four consumer-type groups were identified: indifference, proactive, avoidance, and responsive. Consumers were classified by applying the risk perception attitude framework, and then the factors that influence the consumer-type classifications were examined. The indifference group accounted for 33.9% of all consumers, the highest percentage, and factors that influenced the classification of consumer types were gender, education level, monthly household income, interest in health, and involvement with food safety. The differences in food safety behaviors proxied by intention to pay higher prices for safe food and checking food labels were identified by consumer type, and these differences were statistically significant.     

Pesticide Risk Perceptions,Knowledge, and Attitudes of Operators,Workers, and Residents: A Review of the Literature

The literature on the risk perceptions, knowledge levels, and attitudes of operators, workers, and residents in relation to non-dietary exposure to agricultural pesticides is reviewed. No literature was identified in relation to bystander exposure. Research has primarily been conducted on participants in developing countries and migrant workers in the United States. For operators and workers, illiteracy, poverty, and a perception that exposure to pesticides is an inevitable part of their work results in limited adoption of safety precautions while using and storing pesticides. As a result, risk communication activities aimed at operator and workers need to take account of the wider socioeconomic and cultural conditions in which workers and operators are working and living. There is less research focused on residents’ and bystanders’ perceptions, attitudes, and behaviors. The lack of European data in general, and residents’ and bystanders’ data in particular, represents a knowledge gap that is pertinent to emerging EU legislation requiring residents’ and bystanders’ inclusion in pesticide risk assessment. This review provides a comprehensive overview that can assist policy-makers, and risk communicators in the development of targeted training and awareness-raising material for operators, workers, bystanders, and residents. Areas for future research are suggested.     

The Immediate Influence of a Food Safety Incident on Japanese Consumers’ Food Choice Decisions and Willingness to Pay for Safer Food

In January 2008, 10 people from three families living in Chiba and Hyogo Prefectures in Japan were found to be poisoned after eating frozen dumplings that had been imported from Tianjin, China. This incident had a big influence in the short term on Japanese consumers’ consumption choice of imported food from China as well as the willingness to pay (WTP) for food with higher safety guarantees. Using data from a Web-survey of 1500 respondents covering the whole of Japan, two regression models show that firstly, after the incident, consumers intending to buy Chinese food products reduced from 92.5% to 27.6%, and the change of purchase decision is mostly affected by consumers’ prior risk perception and attitude about Chinese products and presents a regional difference. Secondly, Japanese consumers are willing to pay 64,300 yen per year for safer food on average after the incident, and those whose purchase decision is influenced by the incident have a higher WTP of 54,000 yen than those who are not influenced. The most significant factor to decide the WTP is the framing of questions in the survey. The influence of demographic factors is less important and inconsistent in the two models.     

Comparing the adoption of protective behaviors: The framing effects of national culture and hazard onset type

On the basis of framing effect and protective action decision model, this study examines the differences in people's response to diverse hazard onset types (sudden or gradual) under different cultural frameworks (China and the United States) and the framing effects of culture and hazard onset type on people's perception and behavioral response. The data are derived from three questionnaire surveys on people's behavioral response to H7N9 and smog emergency in China and H1N1 in the United States. Results indicate that people with different cultures and diverse contexts of hazard onset type present substantial differences in risk perception, protective action perception, stakeholder perception, and behavioral expectations. Furthermore, culture and hazard onset type exert significant framing effects on people's three types of perception, reliance on official information sources, and intention to adopt protective actions. This research empirically verifies the existence of framing effect in culture and decision scenarios, thereby helping in developing different emergency communication strategies.     

Maryland veterans' knowledge of risk factors for and signs of oral cancers and their use of dental services

Objectives : The purpose of this study was to evaluate outpatient veteran'í knowledge about risk factors for and signs of oral cancers, and their utilization of dental services. Design : Patients receiving primary health care services were surveyed during August 1997. Setting : Primary health care services at three medical centres within the VA Maryland Health Care System (VAMHCS). Subjects: A total of 135 outpatient veterans were interviewed. Intervention: Questionnaire administered by trained interviewers. Main outcome measures : Fifteen percent of the sample were eligible for dental care at the VA, while over 40% of those veterans participating in the study were unaware of their VA eligibility for dental services. Fifty six percent of the total sample received dental services from a private dentist, while 13% reported they had no provider of dental care. Of those not eligible for dental care at the VA (n=115), the majority (67%) received dental care from a private dentist. Current use of tobacco and alcohol was reported by 27% of the sample. Nonsmokers were more likely to visit the dentist in the previous year than smokers (OR=2.39, 95%C.I. 1.11,5.12). Although 84% correctly identified tobacco use as a risk factor, only 39% correctly identified regular alcohol use as a risk factor. Conclusions : Veterans at higher risk for oral cancers were less likely to have visited the dentist in the previous year, and, overall, were ill informed and misinformed about these cancers.     

Agency,intimacy, and rape jokes: an ethnographic study of young women and sexual risk in Chennai

In this article, I examine the circulation of jokes about sexual violence among young middle‐class women in the South Indian city of Chennai. Drawing on ethnographic research with undergraduate students in this city, I locate the rape joke in an ambivalent discourse of risk that conflates the possibility of sexual assault with the perceived ‘risks’ of women's sexual autonomy. In this context, I argue that humour about sexual violence functions as a form of lateral agency, facilitating a break from the task of reproducing middle‐class respectability.