2020-04-07, Visschers, Vivianne, Griesser, Simone

2019, Jobin, Marilou, Visschers, Vivianne, Arvai, Joseph, Siegrist, Michael

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.

2018, Visschers, Vivianne, Siegrist, Michael, Raue, Martina, Lermer, Eva, Streicher, Bernhard

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

2020-01-28, Visschers, Vivianne, Keller, Christoph

Wer im Winter Tomaten kauft, «erwirbt» pro Kilo Tomaten bis zu 9,2 Kilo CO2. CO2, das von der Heizung der Treibhäuser stammt, aus dem Transport, aus der Logistik. Das wissen die wenigsten, und die wenigsten reagieren überhaupt auf Labels, die Alternativen anbieten. Wer also trägt die Verantwortung - die Konsument*innen, die Grossvertreiler, der Staat? «treibhaus» befragt die Psychologin und Klimaexpertin Vivianne Visschers und Raphael Schilling, Nachhaltigkeitsverantwortlicher bei Coop Schweiz.

2018-12, Visschers, Vivianne, Feck, Vanessa

In diesem Schlussbericht des Forschungsprojektes «My Food Skills»: Entwicklung einer evidenzbasierten Intervention zur Förderung gesunder und nachhaltiger Ernährung werden der Hintergrund und die wichtigsten Ergebnisse des Projektes vorgestellt. Zudem diskutieren wir die Erreichung der von uns gesetzten Meilensteine, die Verwertung und den Impact des Forschungsprojektes, sowie unsere Erfahrungen bezüglich der Zusammenarbeit mit unseren Partnern. Schliesslich wird Rechenschaft über die finanziellen Mittel abgelegt. Insgesamt zeigte das Forschungsprojekt, dass eine massgeschneiderte Interventionsweise einerseits von den Nutzenden sehr geschätzt wurde und sich andererseits als wirksam bewies. In der MyFoodways-App erhalten Nutzende Rezeptvorschläge, welche den persönlichen Bedürfnissen entsprechen. Die persönlichen Angebote wurden als sehr attraktiv wahrgenommen und bewirkten, dass die Nutzenden die App längerfristig aktiv verwenden. Zudem erwies sich, dass je länger die Nutzenden die App verwendeten, umso mehr gesunde und nachhaltige Ernährungsweisen setzten sie um. Eine längerfristige App-Nutzung sorgte auch dafür, dass den Nutzenden bestimmte nachhaltige und gesunde Ernährungsweisen wichtiger wurden. Das App-Entwicklungsteam steht jetzt vor der Herausforderung, die Nutzenden der MyFoodways-App zu halten. Es können Funktionen zugefügt werden, z.B. soziale Funktionen wie Bewertungen der Rezepte durch und für die Nutzenden. Die qualitativen Studien zeigten, dass Nutzende das Bedürfnis nach einer solchen sozialen Funktion haben. Zudem bewiesen die Online-Experimente, dass Bewertungen von anderen Nutzenden die Rezeptauswahl beeinflussen. Um eine langfristige App-Nutzung zu fördern und somit Verhaltensänderungen zu bewirken und zu verfestigen sollte die MyFoodways-App weiterentwickelt werden. Auch während dieser Phase ist es wichtig, dass die Verwendung und Wirkung der App evaluiert wird. Ein Antrag wurde bereits eingereicht, um eine weitere Zusammenarbeit zu ermöglichen.

2020, Visschers, Vivianne, Gundlach, Daniela, Beretta, Claudio

Two interventions were systematically evaluated in two university canteens on their effectiveness to reduce visitors’ plate waste. The evaluation was theory-based and focused not only at the effects on the amount of plate waste, but also at the psychological predictors underlying plate waste behaviour. In Intervention A, visitors received information about food waste over a period of three weeks. In Intervention B, in addition to information, smaller servings were offered. The actual amount of plate waste and visitors’ attitudes, personal norms, beliefs, perceived behavioural control, intentions and plate waste reduction behaviour were measured before and after the interventions. Intervention B reduced the amount of plate waste by 20%, whereas no reduction was found after Intervention A. In both interventions, the provided information resulted in more positive beliefs and stronger personal norms regarding avoiding plate waste. The information also caused attitudes to have a stronger influence on plate waste reduction behaviour, whereas intention to reduce became less important for reducing plate waste. Personal norms regarding food waste were the strongest predictor of plate waste reduction behaviour, before and after the interventions. The provided information was thus insufficient to reduce plate waste, simply offering smaller servings could achieve this. Although our intervention study only included two university canteens and was conducted for a short period, our data seem to imply that a combination of both information and smaller servings reduces plate waste in the food service industry.

2018, Lazzarini, Gianna A., Visschers, Vivianne, Siegrist, Michael

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.