Testing the Impact of Animating Infographics on Consumer Trust and Attitude When Communicating about Genetic Modification

Scientific innovation provides benefits to society but also fosters suspicion and distrust. The unknown of scientific innovations in agriculture has yielded a strained relationship between consumers and farmers, creating little to no public support for solutions to agricultural issues. The relationship between public trust and agricultural innovation is further strained when discussing genetic modification (GM) science and food. Informational graphics are an increasingly popular communication technique that may effectively communicate GM science to consumers. This study examined, through a experimental design using two treatments and a control, if static or animated infographics sharing current societal perceptions of GM science in the U.S. influenced consumers’ trust in science, personal attitudes toward GM, and perceived attitudes of others toward GM science. The animated group had the highest mean trust in science and the control group had the most positive attitude toward GM and the most positive perceived attitudes of others toward GM. The only significant difference was the control group had a more positive perceived attitude than the animated group. The infographics’ lack of impact on respondents’ trust or attitude toward GM science contradicted previous research about respondents’ increased attitude and elaboration of agricultural issues. Food concerns are of continual importance for consumers, and researchers need to help food and fiber scientists and communicators share relevant and research-based information with the public through diverse channels

Marketing Power Berries: An Importance-Performance Analysis of Blueberry

The unique health benefits of blueberries have increased consumers’ demand for this fruit. Although the demand is still low compared to other fruits including apples and grapes, consumers’ growing interest in blueberries has led to a significant increase of blueberry acreage in the U.S., causing the supply to exceed demand. To increase blueberry consumption and sales for the benefits of both consumers’ health and the blueberry industry, this study selected 18 blueberry attributes and used an online survey to examine blueberry purchasers’ perceived importance and satisfaction of these attributes. An importance-performance analysis (IPA) of these attributes was conducted to provide recommendations for future blueberry marketing and research. All examined attributes were at least slightly important to the blueberry purchasers. Among the 18 attributes, price, pesticide free, and all natural should be what producers and marketers concentrate on to create a more desirable blueberry profile. Recommendations include highlighting local blueberries when they are in season and lower priced, being transparent about pesticide use in blueberry production, and educating consumers about pesticide safety. Working with the regulatory agencies to determine if the all-natural definition used to label some meat products is appropriate for fruits and vegetables was also recommended

Using Critical Thinking Styles to Inform Food Safety Behavior Communication Campaigns

Consumers have struggled with maintaining consistent food safety behaviors over the years, which has been affected partly by their limited food safety knowledge. Researchers in this study set to determine Florida residents’ food safety behaviors while also assessing their critical thinking styles. The social cognitive theory and the University of Florida critical thinking styles (UFCTI) inventory served as the guiding framework. The UFCTI has emerged as an effective tool in measuring how an individual’s critical thinking is expressed, performed, or done. Online survey responses were collected from 510 Florida residents and data were analyzed using non-probability and weighting measures. The majority of respondents washed their fresh fruits and vegetables before eating and washed their hands before food preparation. However, respondents were not as likely to disinfect their countertops before food preparation. Respondents exhibited infrequent food label reading behaviors, as well. When receiving food related information, seekers of information preferred printed fact sheets, bulletins or brochures, and demonstration or displays. Whereas, engagers preferred websites. Recommendations included developing communication efforts focused on personalized messages and targeted mediums centered around each critical thinking style. Food safety communication should emphasize the importance and risks of not reading food labels and cleaning countertops. Future research should determine how each critical thinking style uses the mediums where no significant difference was established. Research efforts should focus on expanding the UFCTI and assessing the contributions the social cognitive theory can add

The Critical Target Audience: Communicating Water Conservation Behaviors to Critical Thinking Styles

Although water covers approximately 70% of the planet, only a fraction is fresh water, and even less is used as a major source of drinking water. With the continuous increase in the amount of water used in modern standards of living, the quantity of water available is decreasing. The public is beginning to understand water needs to be conserved and they must play a role in water conservation. While previous literature examined how the majority of messages were catered toward the cost-effectiveness of conserving water, this study proposed how using a specific audience attribute could affect behaviors. The purpose of the study was to determine if critical thinking style can be used in the development of future communication strategies to improve water conservation behaviors. The findings of this study provided evidence of a relationship between critical thinking style and the level of engagement in water conservation behaviors. Recommendations suggested targeting the two constructs of critical thinking style, information seekers and engagers, in two different ways. Since the seekers prefer to gather information by seeking the sources themselves, communicators should focus on developing quality information about water conservation and placing it in easily accessible communications channels for the information seeker. On the other hand, a different communications approach should be taken with the engagers, who prefer to learn through their environment. Communicators should focus on communicating to the engager through the environment in word-of-mouth situations using traditional means such as opinion leaders as well as social media

Guiding Diffusion among Local Food Clientele: Recommendations for Extension Programming

The demand for local food has risen dramatically over the last decade, and many states have created brands to promote products grown within that state. However, the effect of state brands on consumer perceptions remains unknown. Extension agents serve as change agents and a bridge between science and the public to purvey information for adoption decisions. This study sought to determine if differences existed between consumers’ perceptions of food labeled local and food labeled Fresh from Florida to inform Extension programming. Florida residents (N = 530) were surveyed utilizing a between-subjects experimental design. Respondents were asked questions about their attitudes, trust and transparency, and information preferences toward food labeled Fresh from Florida or local food, depending on the experimental treatment they received. Results of this study indicated that consumers shared similar perceptions of local and Fresh from Florida food, except for the belief that Fresh from Florida comes from larger farms, Fresh from Florida labeling is more trustworthy, and there is a greater desire to see a definition of Fresh from Florida food. When Extension agents develop programming on economic viability, information on local food and state brands should be included to help producers market their products and increase revenues

Understanding Consumer Intent to Buy Local Food: Adding Consumer Past Experience and Moral Obligation Toward Buying Local Blueberries in Florida Within the Theory of Planned Behavior

Buying local food has become an increasingly popular way for consumers to engage with those who grow their food; however, research has shown a specific audience tends to buy local food due to individual-specific barriers. To better understand what motivates consumers to buy local food the Theory of Planned Behavior was used as a way to potentially predict consumers’ behavior toward buying locally grown blueberries. Also, the variables of past experience and self-identity/moral obligation toward buying local food were introduced to the model since both variables may increase the predictability of the Theory of Planned Behavior model in certain food-related behaviors. This study used an online survey completed by 1,122 respondents, from a sample frame of all consumers in Florida. The study used a non-probability sample of an opt-in panel, and weighting procedures were applied to the data to account for coverage errors associated with using a non-probability sample. The interaction of consumers’ past experience and self-identity/moral obligation was found to help explain consumers’ intention to buy locally grown blueberries when added to the Theory of Planned Behavior. The Theory of Planned Behavior was shown to predict consumers’ intention to buy locally grown blueberries; however, their intent was better explained with the inclusion of the variables of past experience and self-identity/moral obligation toward buying local blueberries. Recommendations for future research and application include future research into other variables that may impact buying behavior and inclusion of these variables in future communication efforts focused on consumers buying and engaging with local food

The Message or the Channel: An Experimental Design of Consumers\u27 Perceptions of a Local Food Message and the Media Channels Used to Deliver the Information

With the ever-increasing options of communication media channels, the question of, “Which media channel is the best for a message?” is an important question for researchers and professionals in the agricultural arena. This research sought to determine how the interaction between consumers’ perceptions of the message and past media use impacted their attitudes toward the media channels of print, video, and Web. The theoretical framework used in this study was media richness, which was used to understand the characteristics of different media channels and their ability to deliver information. The message used in this study was related to buying local food in Florida. This study used an experimental design to assess respondents’ attitudes toward media channels. The population for the study was Florida consumers, and a non-probability sample was used. The 1,122 respondents’ of this study were given a message through one of the three media channels of a print, video, or Web advertisement and then asked their perceptions of the message and the media channel. The results indicated respondents’ attitudes toward the channel were significantly impacted by their perception of the message but not their past media usage. Recommendations for future research of theory and professional application are given

The Effects of Online Video on Consumers’ Attitudes Toward Local Food

Marketers rate online video as their most utilized content medium. This study used a between-subject control group post-test-only experiment to investigate the effect of three local food messages delivered via online video on U.S. consumers’ attitudes toward local food. The three 30-second videos each featured one of the documented benefits of local food: high quality, support of local economy, and strengthening of social connection. Results indicated all three video treatments yielded a positive attitude toward local food, while respondents in the control group had a neutral attitude. The video treatment featuring local food’s high quality generated a significantly more favorable local food attitude than the other two video treatments. Although the social connection video treatment generated a positive attitude toward local food based on the real limits, it did not significantly differentiate from the control group. Communicators should consider using similar short, online videos for emphasizing the high quality of local food and its support of the local economy to promote local agricultural products. Future research should pair live-action or animated footage with the same messages in the video treatments to identify messages effectiveness. Researchers should also investigate why some individuals respond to local food’s benefit of social connection more readily than the others, and identify strategies to use social connection media frame to promote local food

Communication of Genetic Modification Science: Consumers’ Critical Thinking Style, Perceived Transparency of Information, and Attitude

Consumers’ attitude toward GM science is not only an important factor to determine the industry’s development, it is also a crucial topic across various countries. How people express their judgment of GM science, involves a highly complicated process. Because of this complexity, influence on attitude toward GM science has become a popular research topic and has been examined through various variables. This study sought to examine the effects of critical thinking styles and perceived transparency of GM science on attitude toward GM science. To fulfill the purpose of the research, an online survey was conducted. A total of 1,047 adults across the United States were recruited using non-probability sampling techniques. The results of the study found critical thinking style had a significant impact on the perceived transparency of GM science information and attitude toward GM science. However, consumers with higher perceived transparency of GM science information reported lower attitudes toward GM science than those who had lower perceived transparency. An interaction effect of critical thinking styles and perceived transparency of GM science on attitude toward GM science was found. Further research examining perceived transparency was recommended. In addition, it was recommended that extension agents or agricultural communicators could develop various communication strategies based on various attribution of consumers