PUBLIC CONCERNS IN THE UNITED-KINGDOM ABOUT GENERAL AND SPECIFIC APPLICATIONS OF GENETIC-ENGINEERING - RISK, BENEFIT, AND ETHICS

The repertory grid method was used to determine what terminology respo ndents use to distinguish between different applications of genetic en gineering drawn from food-related, agricultural, and medical applicati ons. Respondents were asked to react to fifteen applications phrased i n general terms, and results compared with a second study where fiftee n more specific applications were used as stimuli. Both sets of data w ere submitted to generalized procrustes analysis. Applications associa ted with animals or human genetic material were described as causing e thical concern, being unnatural, harmful, and dangerous. Those involvi ng plants or microorganisms were described as beneficial, progressive, and necessary. The results were validated in survey research, which i ndicated that general applications of genetic engineering were perceiv ed as either positive or negative, whereas specific applications were more highly differentiated in perceptual terms. The results imply that the public debate about genetic engineering must take due account of the complexity of public concerns.