Consumers’ risk perception of household cleaning and washing products

Bearth, Angela; Miesler, Linda; Siegrist, Michael

doi:10.1111/risa.12635

Publication type:	Article in scientific journal
Type of review:	Peer review (publication)
Title:	Consumers’ risk perception of household cleaning and washing products
Authors:	Bearth, Angela Miesler, Linda Siegrist, Michael
DOI:	10.1111/risa.12635
Published in:	Risk Analysis
Volume(Issue):	37
Issue:	4
Page(s):	647
Pages to:	660
Issue Date:	2017
Publisher / Ed. Institution:	Wiley
ISSN:	0272-4332 1539-6924
Language:	English
Subjects:	Risk perception; Consumer behaviour
Subject (DDC):	363: Environmental and security problems
Abstract:	A large share of accidental and non-accidental poisonings are caused by household cleaning and washing products, such as drain cleaner or laundry detergent. The main goal of this article was to investigate consumers’ risk perception and misconceptions of a variety of cleaning and washing products in order to inform future risk communication efforts. For this, a sorting task including 33 commonly available household cleaning and washing products was implemented. A total of 60 female consumers were asked to place the cleaning and washing products on a reference line 3 m in length with the poles “dangerous” and “not dangerous.” The gathered data were analyzed qualitatively and by means of multidimensional scaling, cluster analysis, and linear regression. The dimensionality of the sorting data suggests that both analytically (i.e., written and graphical hazard notes and perceived effectiveness) and intuitively driven risk judgments (i.e., eco vs. regular products) were applied by the participants. Furthermore, results suggest the presence of misconceptions, particularly related to consumers’ perceptions of eco cleaning products, which were generally regarded as safer than their regular counterparts. Future risk communication should aim at dispelling these misconceptions and promoting accurate risk perceptions of particular household cleaning and washing products.
URI:	https://digitalcollection.zhaw.ch/handle/11475/11450
Fulltext version:	Published version
License (according to publishing contract):	Licence according to publishing contract
Departement:	Life Sciences and Facility Management School of Management and Law
Organisational Unit:	Institute of Marketing Management (IMM) Institute of Natural Resource Sciences (IUNR)
Appears in collections:	Publikationen Life Sciences und Facility Management

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Bearth, A., Miesler, L., & Siegrist, M. (2017). Consumers’ risk perception of household cleaning and washing products. Risk Analysis, 37(4), 647–660. https://doi.org/10.1111/risa.12635

Bearth, A., Miesler, L. and Siegrist, M. (2017) ‘Consumers’ risk perception of household cleaning and washing products’, Risk Analysis, 37(4), pp. 647–660. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1111/risa.12635.

A. Bearth, L. Miesler, and M. Siegrist, “Consumers’ risk perception of household cleaning and washing products,” Risk Analysis, vol. 37, no. 4, pp. 647–660, 2017, doi: 10.1111/risa.12635.

BEARTH, Angela, Linda MIESLER und Michael SIEGRIST, 2017. Consumers’ risk perception of household cleaning and washing products. Risk Analysis. 2017. Bd. 37, Nr. 4, S. 647–660. DOI 10.1111/risa.12635

Bearth, Angela, Linda Miesler, and Michael Siegrist. 2017. “Consumers’ Risk Perception of Household Cleaning and Washing Products.” Risk Analysis 37 (4): 647–60. https://doi.org/10.1111/risa.12635.

Bearth, Angela, et al. “Consumers’ Risk Perception of Household Cleaning and Washing Products.” Risk Analysis, vol. 37, no. 4, 2017, pp. 647–60, https://doi.org/10.1111/risa.12635.