Table 2.
Summary statistics for regulation and risk/benefit perception variables
| Response categories: (1 = Strongly disagree; 5 = Strongly agree) | Mean | SD |
|---|---|---|
| Regulation of nanotechnology | ||
| “Academic nanotechnology research should be regulated” | 2.12 | 1.22 |
| “Commercial nanotechnology research should be regulated” | 2.96 | 1.34 |
| Level of regulation of nanotechnology | ||
| “Regulations of nanotechnology should be implemented at the local level” | 2.04 | 1.17 |
| “Regulations of nanotechnology should be implemented at the national level” | 3.43 | 1.23 |
| “Regulations of nanotechnology should be implemented at the international level” | 3.05 | 1.37 |
| Risk perceptions | ||
| Loss of privacy: “Nanotech may lead to the loss of personal privacy because of tiny new surveillance devices” | 2.81 | 1.21 |
| Lead to arms race: “Nanotech may lead to an arms race between the U.S. and other countries” | 2.27 | 1.16 |
| Used by terrorists: “Nanotech may be used by terrorists against the U.S.” | 2.69 | 1.21 |
| Lead to human health problems: “Nanotech may lead to new human health problems” | 2.96 | 1.06 |
| Lead to more pollution: “Nanotech may lead to more pollution and environmental contamination” | 2.62 | 1.06 |
| Loss of U.S. jobs: “Because of nanotech we may lose more U.S. jobs” | 1.85 | 0.98 |
| Spread of tiny robots: “Nanotech may lead to the uncontrollable spread of very tiny self-replicating robots” | 1.51 | 0.90 |
| Benefit perceptions | ||
| Treating diseases: “Nanotech may lead to new and better ways to treat and detect human diseases” | 2.96 | 1.06 |
| Clean environment: “Nanotech may lead to new and better ways to clean up the environment” | 2.81 | 1.21 |
| Improve human abilities: “Nanotech may give scientists the ability to improve human physical and mental abilities” | 2.69 | 1.21 |
| Improve national security: “Nanotech may help us develop increased national security and defensive capabilities” | 2.62 | 1.06 |
| Solve energy problems: “Nanotech may lead to technologies that will help solve our energy problems” | 2.27 | 1.16 |
| Revolutionize computer industry: “Nanotech may revolutionize the computer industry” | 1.85 | 0.98 |
| Lead to economic boom: “Nanotech may lead to a new economic boom” | 1.51 | 0.90 |