Almost half of the students (47 %) stated that the benefits of nanotechnology outweigh
its risks (Q4). Several surveys have shown, that participants felt that the benefits of
nanotechnology outweighed its risks and most of them had a positive attitude towards
nanotechnology (Cobb and Macoubrie 2004; Scheufele and Lewenstein 2005; Macoubrie
2006; Nerlich et al. 2007). However a recent study has suggested that benefit alone does
not guarantee acceptance as participants showed a low intention to buy nanotechnology
foods or food with nanotechnology packaging (Siegrist et al. 2007). It was found that grade
level, science course achievement and emotions to nanotechnology significantly influenced
risk perceptions (Table 4).