Abstract or concrete: the importance of descriptions of biotechnology in its evaluation

Biotechnology is an environmental issue that can be evaluated with regard t o the impact of the technology "as such" or with regard to specific product s. We assume that the concreteness of presentations of biotechnology has an influence on evaluations of risks and benefits. We conducted two experimen tal studies. In Study 1, 99 subjects evaluated the strength and importance of pro and contra arguments that were presented in short texts on biotechno logy. In study 2, 141 subjects were given short texts on biotechnology as w ell as 15 scales measuring evaluations of risks and chances. Data reveal an influence of the factor "concreteness" on evaluations of pro arguments and benefits as well as on evaluations of contra arguments and risks. But resu lts point to an interaction between levels of concreteness of descriptions and their specific contents: in the pharmaceutical domain concrete descript ions are evaluated more positively than abstract descriptions, in the agric ultural domain concrete descriptions are evaluated more negatively.