Investigating the perceived hazard of warning signal words

Standards and guidelines often recommend that the warning signal words ‘Danger’, ‘Warning’ and ‘Caution’ are used to denote decreasing levels of hazard on warning signs and labels. However the research into the perceived hazard of these words does not unequivocally support their use in this way. Here we extend the previous research by using a survey methodology and single estimation technique to investigate hazard perceptions of signal words in the UK population. In general our findings support the use of signal words to communicate hazard but we suggest that more research is needed into the specific terms recommended.