PERCEIVED EFFECTIVENESS OF FOOTBALL HELMET WARNING LABELS

The relative importance of warning components (signal word, instructio ns, consequences) was assessed with respect to the perceived effective ness of the football helmet warning label created by the National Oper ating Committee on Standards for Athletic Equipment (NOCSAE). We also investigated whether the addition of a hazard statement or a graphic s ymbol portraying improper helmet use would increase the NOCSAE label's perceived effectiveness. Football players (N = 484) rated one of six versions of the label: (a) the original NOCSAE label; labels with dele ted (b) signal word, (c) instructions, or (d) consequences; and labels with an added (e) hazard statement, or (f) symbol. Contrary to our hy potheses, deletion of the signal word, instructions, or consequences f ailed to decrease the label's perceived effectiveness. However additio n of the hazard statement and symbol significantly increased perceived effectiveness. Implications for NOCSAE label design and future resear ch are discussed.