‘Not suitable for children under 3 years of age’; the effects of pictogram characteristics and consumer's attributes on comprehension of and intended compliance with the warning

To indicate that small toys or toys with small parts are not suitable for children under the age of three, a series of pictograms was developed by the EU Standardization Committee. In the present study, emphasis was on consumers' comprehension and preference of these pictogram variants. In addition, the study investigated consumers' attitudes towards safety aspects of toys with potentially hazardous small parts and their intended compliance with the warning. To that end a questionnaire was verbally administered to a total of 2740 potential toy-buyers in 6 representative countries out of the 12 member states of the EU. Results indicate that (a) intended compliance with the warning depends on the consumer's attitude towards the suitability of these toys for children under three years of age and on the type of toy, (b) the pictogram has a positive effect on intended compliance with the warning-an effect that is larger for toys perceived as less hazardous, (c) the pictogram most suited to convey the meaning consists of a ‘no-parking’ sign, a ‘sad’ face, and an age indication of 0-3.