%0 Journal Article
%T The elephant in the room: How a technology¡¯s name affects its interpretation
%A Bart Gremmen
%A P. Marijn Poortvliet
%A Reginald Boersma
%J Public Understanding of Science
%@ 1361-6609
%D 2019
%R 10.1177/0963662518812295
%X In this work, using experiments, we investigate the role of the name of a technology on the informed evaluation of that technology. We argue that a name can influence interpretations by activating cognitive structures. Using genomics-accelerated breeding as a case, we show that the name ¡®genomics¡¯ makes people evaluate related information as similar to genetic modification. Replacing the name ¡®genomics¡¯ with ¡®natural crossing¡¯ causes evaluations similar to those for traditional breeding. The results show that a name can have a strong influence on public attitudes, and we call for more consideration in choosing a name for a technology
%K attitudes
%K genomics
%K learning
%K nanotechnology
%K public education
%U https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0963662518812295