WHAT INFORMATION BELONGS IN A WARNING

A general approach is described for determining the information conten t of warnings. It begins with a formal analysis of the magnitudes of t he risks arising from misuse (or even from proper use) of a product. I t proceeds with structured, open-ended interviews intended to elicit c onsumers' naive conceptualizations of the processes creating and contr olling those risks. Communications are then focused on information fil ling the most consequential gaps in their knowledge. The implementatio n of those warnings will depend on the extent of the knowledge gaps, a nd the opportunities for closing them. This approach allows for an est imate of the residual problems to be expected, if a warning program is implemented. It can also help to focus the policy debate over whether a product warning will achieve an acceptable level of misunderstandin g. (C) 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.