Perception and attitudes towards risks and hazards of genetic engineering within the German public

Abstract

»Which resources do people mobilize for gaining orientation and jugdement ability if they are confronted with a new and not yet well known phenomenon as for example genetic engineering?« This is a central question of a sub-project within the concerted action »perception and attitudes towards risks and hazards of genetic engineering within the German public«. Amongst German public, most people feel unfamiliar with genetic engineering, although public discussion seems intensified during the last months. On one hand, the proceedings of cloning animals, the controversy about the release of genetically designed plants on approval, or the rising public demand for labeling genetically manipulated food might have affected people’s opinion. On the other hand, one can imagine that genetic engineering can be perceived as a symbol and be embedded in a wider semantic context, too: A key-technology that stands for modernization, for the business-world, economic, ecological and risk globalization, even for a technocratic remodelling of the world, might induce feelings of presumption, uncertainty of risks and detriments, and could arouse assoziations to the history of nuclear power or the proceedings during the infamous Third Reich. In fact, we can only speculate about the pictures, people sketch out about the phenomenon of genetic engineering, and we do so with regard to the mechanisms of gaining orientation and value judgement. Thus, the sub-project pursues two main objectives: First to clarify the semantic space of that technology in public opinion based on qualitative data, and, second, to develop hypotheses and instruments answering the question of how and why people judge genetic engineering as they do. Hereby we particularly discuss what concepts of risk are available and to which extent the assumptions of risks and hazards are used in constructing value judgements. To explain the variations in assessing genetic engineering and its risks, we secondly pursued a cultural approach: Inspired by insights derived by qualitative data we assume that orientations and judgements are borrowed from specific value patterns.