Behavioural compliance to voice and print warnings

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Abstract
The present research examined the effect of warning modality on compliance behaviour in two laboratory experiments and a field experiment. In the laboratory experiments, subjects followed a set of printed instructions to perform a chemistry demonstration task that involved the measuring and mixing of disguised chemicals. In the first experiment, subjects were directed to wear mask and gloves by a warning presented in one of three ways: printed on the top of the instruction sheet (print-only); given aurally by the experimenter (voice-only); or given both in the printed instructions and by the experimenter (print and voice). The results showed that compliance was significantly higher when the warning was presented in both modalities compared to the print-only condition. The voice-only condition produced intermediate compliance that was not reliably different from the other two conditions. To reduce possible experimenter influence in the voice warning conditions of the first experiment, the warning was presented by audiotape in the second experiment. The results again showed greater compliance to a warning presented in both modalities compared to a print warning alone. To check the external validity of these results, a field experiment was performed which simulated a slippery-floor hazard in a shopping mall. The results confirmed the findings of the two laboratory experiments. This research demonstrates that voice warnings enhance behavioural compliance, probably due to their inherent attention-getting and information transmission properties. Practical applications of voice warnings are discussed.

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