Visschers, Vivianne

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Vivianne
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Visschers, Vivianne

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Gerade angezeigt 1 - 10 von 10
  • Publikation
    Affect or information? Examining drivers of public preferences of future energy portfolios in Switzerland
    (Elsevier, 2019) Jobin, Marilou; Visschers, Vivianne; Arvai, Joseph; Siegrist, Michael [in: Energy Research & Social Science]
    The energy transition in Switzerland, as in many other countries, aims to increase the proportion of electricity produced using renewable energy technologies. In this context, governmental agencies and other institutions have attempted to communicate the implications of (domestic) electricity systems through the use of web-based and interactive decision support systems (DSSs). Studies show that, when no additional information is provided, preferences concerning the future electricity mix are mainly driven by the affective reactions that energy technologies evoke. A question remains, however, regarding how people engage with the information provided in a DSS, as well as whether such information is influential in terms of shaping people’s choices. We asked our participants to build an electricity portfolio using a DSS, which modeled the Swiss electricity system. The participants’ political orientation and their affective reactions to different energy technologies guided their information search, as well as the choice of energy technologies within their portfolio. The attention paid to the information provided was not directly related to the participants’ portfolio choices. The selective processing of information, which was based on the participants’ prior attitudes, suggests that they target information they are already familiar with in the DSS. However, this also illustrates a caveat previously identified in motivated political reasoning, since selective information processing, together with the tendency to disconfirm information that is incongruent with prior beliefs, can lead to the polarization of previously held views. As the information provided through the DSS we tested was unable to change the participants’ affective-cognitive evaluation of energy technologies, its use should be carefully considered in light of the possible effects of consolidating existing beliefs.
    01A - Beitrag in wissenschaftlicher Zeitschrift
  • Publikation
    How to improve consumers' environmental sustainability judgements of foods
    (Elsevier, 2018) Lazzarini, Gianna A.; Visschers, Vivianne; Siegrist, Michael [in: Journal of Cleaner Production]
    Food production and consumption account for approximately one-third of households' environmental impact. Consumers thus play a major role in the shift towards more sustainable foods and diets. An overall sustainability label or simple guidelines may enable consumers to make more environmentally friendly food choices, but whether such information-based tools improve consumers' ability to choose environmentally sustainable foods has not been empirically investigated. This study's online choice task experiment shows that eco-labels and guidelines marginally increased consumers' accuracy in selecting environmentally friendly foods. Respondents adhered, however, more to guidelines than to eco-labels and led to choices with lower environmental impact. In addition, respondents showed several misconceptions related to the environmental performance of protein products, which were resistant to both eco-labels and guidelines. These findings suggest that new, costly labels may not improve consumers' environmental judgements. Instead, addressing consumers' misconceptions and finding ways to promote environmentally sustainable food purchases is essential.
    01A - Beitrag in wissenschaftlicher Zeitschrift
  • Publikation
    Differences in risk perception between hazards and between individuals
    (Springer, 2018) Visschers, Vivianne; Siegrist, Michael; Raue, Martina; Lermer, Eva; Streicher, Bernhard [in: Psychological Perspectives on Risk and Risk Analysis]
    How people think about a hazard often deviates from experts’ assessment of its probability and severity. The aim of this chapter is to clarify how people perceive risks. We thereby focus on two important research lines: (1) research on the psychometric paradigm, which explains variations between the perceptions of different risks, and (2) research on factors that may determine an individual’s perception of a risk (i.e., perceived benefits, trust, knowledge, affective associations, values, and fairness). Findings from studies about various risks (e.g., genetically modified organisms, food additives, and climate change) are reviewed in order to provide practical implications for risk management and communication. Overall, this chapter shows that the roles of benefit perception, trust, knowledge, affective associations, personal values, and fairness are not always straightforward; different factors appear involved in the perception of different hazards. We recommend practitioners, when they encounter a new hazard, to consult previous studies about similar hazards in order to identify the factors that describe the public’s perception of the new
    04A - Beitrag Sammelband
  • Publikation
    A comparison of pig farmers' and veterinarians' perceptions and intentions to reduce antimicrobial usage in six European countries
    (Wiley, 2016) Visschers, Vivianne; Backhans, Annette; Collineau, Lucie; Loesken, Svenja; Nielsen, Elisabeth; Postma, Merel; Belloc, Catherine; Dewulf, Jeroen; Emanuelson, Ulf; Grosse Beilage, Elisabeth; Siegrist, Michael; Sjölund, Marie; Stärk, Katherina [in: Zoonoses and Public Health]
    Antimicrobial (AM) resistance is an increasing problem in human and veterinary medicine. To manage this problem, the usage of AM should be reduced in pig farming, as well as in other areas. It is important to investigate the factors that influence both pig farmers' and veterinarians' intentions to reduce AM usage, which is a prerequisite for developing intervention measures. We conducted a mail survey among pig farmers (N = 1,294) and an online survey among veterinarians (N = 334) in Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Sweden and Switzerland. The farmers' survey assessed the perceived risks and benefits of and need for AM usage; the intention to reduce AM usage; farmers' efficacy (i.e. perception of their ability to reduce AM usage); support from their veterinarian; and the future reduction potential of AM usage. Additionally, self-reported reduction behaviours, the perceived farmers' barriers to reduce AM usage and relationships with farmers were assessed in the veterinarians' survey. The results showed that farmers and veterinarians had similar perceptions of the risks and benefits of AM usage. Veterinarians appeared to be more optimistic than pig farmers about reducing AM usage in pig farming. Farmers believed that their efficacy over AM reduction was relatively high. Farmers' intention to reduce AM usage and veterinarians' self-reported reduction behaviours were mainly associated with factors concerning the feasibility of reducing AM usage. To promote prudent AM usage, pig farmers should learn and experience how to reduce usage by applying alternative measures, whereas veterinarians should strengthen their advisory role and competencies to support and educate farmers.
    01A - Beitrag in wissenschaftlicher Zeitschrift
  • Publikation
    Knowledge as a driver of public perceptions about climate change reassessed
    (Nature, 2016) Shi, Jing; Visschers, Vivianne; Siegrist, Michael; Arvai, Joseph [in: Nature Climate Change]
    It is intuitive to assume that concern about climate change should be preceded by knowledge about its effects. However, recent research suggests that knowledge about climate change has only a limited effect on shaping concern about climate change. Our view is that this counterintuitive finding is a function of how knowledge is typically measured in studies about climate change. We find that if it is measured in a domain-specific and multidimensional way, knowledge is indeed an important driver of concern about climate change—even when we control for human values. Likewise, different dimensions of knowledge play different roles in shaping concern about climate change. To illustrate these findings, we present the results from a survey deployed across six culturally and politically diverse countries. Higher levels of knowledge about the causes of climate change were related to a heightened concern. However, higher levels of knowledge about the physical characteristics of climate change had either a negative or no significant effect on concern. Efforts aimed at improving public knowledge about climate change are therefore not the lost cause that some researchers claim they may be.
    01A - Beitrag in wissenschaftlicher Zeitschrift
  • Publikation
    Does environmental friendliness equal healthiness? Swiss consumers’ perception of protein products
    (Elsevier, 2016) Lazzarini, Gianna A.; Zimmermann, Jasmin; Visschers, Vivianne; Siegrist, Michael [in: Appetite]
    Food production and consumption have major impacts on the environment. At the same time, changes in human diets worldwide are increasingly leading to health problems. Both issues are highly influenced by consumers’ everyday food choices and could be addressed by reducing consumption of meat and other animal products. To promote sustainable food consumption, we need to know how consumers perceive the environmental friendliness and healthiness of food products, on which criteria they base their evaluations of environmental friendliness and healthiness, and how their estimations relate to life cycle assessments and nutrient profiling. We presented 30 protein products, which varied in provenance, production methods, and processing, to 85 participants from Switzerland. They were asked to sort the products once according to their perceived environmental friendliness and once according to their perceived healthiness. The mean distances between the products were compared to the products’ life cycle assessments and nutrient profiles. The results showed that perceived environmental friendliness and healthiness are highly correlated. The main predictors of the products’ perceived environmental friendliness were product category, presence of an organic label, and provenance; and for perceived healthiness, these predictors were product category, fat content, processing, and presence of an organic label. Environmental friendliness and healthiness estimations were significantly correlated to the life cycle assessments and the nutrient profiles of the products, respectively. Hence, to promote healthy and environmentally friendly food choices, motivators related to environmental friendliness and healthiness could be used in synergy. Awareness about meat’s environmental impact should be increased and better information is needed for consumers to make an accurate environmental impact and healthiness assessments of protein products.
    01A - Beitrag in wissenschaftlicher Zeitschrift
  • Publikation
    Higher perceived risks of antimicrobial use are related to lower usage among pig farmers in four European countries
    (BMJ, 2016) Visschers, Vivianne; Postma, Merel; Sjölund, Marie; Backhans, Annette; Collineau, Lucie; Loesken, Svenja; Belloc, Catherine; Dewulf, Jeroen; Emanuelson, Ulf; Siegrist, Michael; Stärk, Katherina [in: Veterinary Record]
    The prudent use of antimicrobials (AMs) should be widened in pig farming to reduce the risk of AM resistance (AMR) in human and veterinary medicine. It is therefore important to understand pig farmers’ motivators and the barriers to AM usage (AMU) on their farms. The authors investigated pig farmers’ self-estimated levels of AMU, their perceived benefits and risks and the need for AMs in a cross-sectional survey in Belgium, France, Germany and Sweden. The authors also compared these perceptions between the four countries and related them to pig farmers’ actual AMU. The results showed that farmers who used more AMs also estimated their own usage as higher. Farmers perceived many benefits but relatively few risks of AMU in pig farming. Some significant cross-country differences in farmers’ perceptions were found, but they were relatively small. After controlling for country differences and farm differences, only perceived risks had a significant association with AMU. The authors therefore conclude that in order to promote prudent AMU, it seems most promising to focus on the structural differences in pig farming and veterinary medicine (e.g. legislation, role of the veterinarian) among countries. In addition, interventions which aim at reducing AMU should increase farmers’ awareness of the risks of extensive AMU.
    01A - Beitrag in wissenschaftlicher Zeitschrift
  • Publikation
    Sorting out food waste behaviour: A survey on the motivators and barriers of self-reported amounts of food waste in households
    (Elsevier, 2016) Visschers, Vivianne; Wickli, Nadine; Siegrist, Michael [in: Journal of Environmental Psychology]
    Households in Western countries are responsible for a large amount of food that is not consumed, but instead is wasted, which has large environmental impacts. To reduce this amount, we should understand the predictors of consumers' food waste. We conducted a large mail survey in Switzerland to investigate which determinants explain the self-reported amount of food waste in households. Determinants were taken from the theory of planned behaviour (TPB), as well as personal norms, knowledge, household planning habits and the good provider identity. Self-reported amounts of food waste were assessed for 11 food groups. The TPB determinants, together with the good provider identity, explained the amount of food waste well. Moreover, different predictors appeared relevant for waste in different food categories. To reduce food waste in households, interventions should focus on increasing consumers' perceived behavioural control over food waste and persuading them that they can be a good provider without wasting food.
    01A - Beitrag in wissenschaftlicher Zeitschrift
  • Publikation
    Does better for the environment mean less tasty? Offering more climate-friendly meals is good for the environment and customer satisfaction
    (Elsevier, 2015) Visschers, Vivianne; Siegrist, Michael [in: Appetite]
    Food consumption comprises a significant portion of the total environmental impact of households. One way to reduce this impact may be to offer consumers more climate-friendly meal choices, such as when eating out. However, the environmental benefits of such an intervention will depend on not only consumers' liking of the climate-friendlier meals, but also on the perceived environmental impact. We therefore investigated the relationship between the global warming potential (GWP) of and consumers' liking of meals in two field studies in the same restaurant. Visitors to the restaurant were asked to rate the taste of the meal they had just consumed. These taste ratings were then related to the meals' GWP and number of purchases. In the second study, an intervention was tested consisting of a climate-friendly choice label and information posters. Contrary to expectations, it was found in both studies that the GWP of the meals was unrelated to the taste or the number of purchases. Offering more climate-friendly meals did not change consumer satisfaction. As expected, the introduction of the climate-friendly choice label increased the number of climate-friendly meal purchases. Therefore, offering more climate-friendly meals with a climate-friendly choice label can affect consumers' meal choices, but not their preferences or satisfaction, which is beneficial for the climate, consumers and gastronomic establishments.
    01A - Beitrag in wissenschaftlicher Zeitschrift
  • Publikation
    Applying the evaluability principle to nutrition table information. How reference information changes people's perception of food products
    (Elsevier, 2009) Visschers, Vivianne; Siegrist, Michael [in: Appetite]
    Consumers often neglect or misinterpret nutrition table information. We argue in this paper that this can be explained by the evaluability principle, which posits that people's evaluation of a product corresponds to a greater degree with the product's actual value when people receive reference information about the product than when they do not get this information. We tested this assumption concerning nutrition table information in two studies. In Study 1, respondents received one of six nutrition tables that differed on reference and summary information about either yogurt or chocolate. In the second study, we compared three nutrition tables from the previous study, as applied to either a low nutritional value yogurt or a high nutritional value yogurt. Participants were asked to rate the attractiveness and perceived healthiness of the product in both studies. Results indicated that reference information can change people's product perception. This seems to depend, however, on the product's nutritional value and on people's primary connotation for the product. In sum, the evaluability principle can explain people's perception of a food product. A nutrition table that is adapted to this principle appears to influence people's product perception so that it becomes more in line with its nutritional value. Implications for practice and further research are given.
    01A - Beitrag in wissenschaftlicher Zeitschrift