Heuristic and systematic processing differentially influence the effects of scientific consensus messaging on perceived scientific consensus

Abstract This study investigated the impact of scientific consensus messaging on perceived scientific consensus in terms of heuristic and systematic processing. Japanese undergraduates (N = 226) received a message indicating relatively moderate and high levels of scientific consensus on the safety of foods grown with pesticides and genetically modified (GM) foods. Participants in the presentation-style evaluation condition evaluated the style and manner of providing the message and thereby were encouraged to heuristically process information about scientific consensus in the message. Participants in the content evaluation condition evaluated the message content and therefore could process the information systematically. After evaluating the message, participants’ perceptions of scientific consensus improved. The levels of posteriorly perceived scientific consensus were higher for the presentation-style evaluation condition than for the content evaluation condition. Participants’ initial beliefs about the GM-food safety predicted their posterior perceptions of scientific consensus for the content evaluation condition but not for the presentation-style evaluation condition. These results suggest that the heuristic and systematic processing of scientific consensus information differentially influence the impact of scientific consensus messaging.