ABSTRACT
Culture and its relevance to the design and evaluation of warnings should be viewed from a cognitive perspective. Culture is a metaschema (global cognitive framework), that reflects beliefs, attitudes, and experiences that influence how individuals perceive risks and make decisions about precautions and compliance. Thus, the perspective of culture as a cognitive framework is important in helping warnings researchers and others to identify ways to design effective warnings. After discussion of culture as a metaschema, this chapter provides an overview of the use of ethnicity-based culture in research categorizations, as well as other cultural attributes. A discussion follows of research on cultural differences among warning components such as colors, symbols, and persuasive content. In addition, recommendations related to the conduct of culturally centered research and considerations when transferring warnings across cultures are discussed.
