Is the social representation of nanotechnology anchored in that of GMOs?

International audienceThe use of nanotechnology (devices/materials composed of parts less than 10nanometres) in the development of new products is rapidly expanding.Industrialists and decision-makers consider nanotechnology to be the nextindustrial revolution, but fear they risk the same resistance to nanotechnologythat their counterparts experienced with genetically modified organisms (GMOs).Although risk perception studies have shown that perceived risk of GMOs isquite high compared to that related to nanotechnology, no study to date hasexplored a potential direct social representation link between the two. Thepresent study aims to fill that gap by comparing the social representations ofnanotechnology and GMOs among a population of non-experts. This study wasconducted with 282 students in human and social sciences and natural sciences.Using a free association task with the inductive words ‘nanotechnology’ and‘GMO (genetically modified organism)’, we identified the existing social representationsof the two based on a structural approach. While the representation ofGMOs is objectified in the field of agriculture, objectification for nanotechnologyseems to still be lacking, although its possible objectification likely lies incomputing and robotics. Our calculation of the rate of similarity of associativewords with nanotechnology and GMOs indicated no present, direct link betweentheir social representations. We discuss the possible evolution of the socialrepresentation of nanotechnology over time