Over-the-Counter Package Modification Preferences Among Consumer

Over-the-counter Package Modification Preferences Among Consumers. SYDNEY BROWN, SAVANNAH MUSE, MEGAN BAILEY, JORDEN CROWE, SYDNEY YOUNG, VANESSA LEIGH JONES, and GREGORY M. CORSO, Department of Psychology, Morehead State University, Morehead, KY 40351. Americans have consumed over-the-counter medications for years with little modification made to packaging regulations. Previous research suggests that highlighting information about the drug (dosage, active ingredients, purpose) will reduce improper consumption. This study examined consumer preference levels regarding modifications made to sample generic and name-brand medication labels for four different types of medications; antihistamine, antacid, stomach relief and pain relief. Amazon Turk Master Workers (N=105) were administered the study via Survey Monkey. Participants completed a demographic survey indicating gender, income level, education level, race, age, and handedness. They were then presented with varying combinations of labels (four at a time) and rated them regarding trustworthiness, informativeness, aesthetics, and the likeliness to buy. A 4 (drug type) x 2 (name-brand, generic) x 4 (questions- informative, trust, buy, aesthetics) x 2 (highlighted area, no highlighted area) repeated measures ANOVA was used to analyze the data. The results yielded a significant 4-way interaction between the drug type, name-brand or generic-brand labels, the question type, and highlighted area or no highlighted area containing crucial information. Participants rated the labels with a highlighted area, for all four drug types, as more informative, more trustworthy and were more likely to purchase them. Concerning aesthetics, a preference for name-brand labels and labels without a highlighted area resulted. Results also yielded a preference for generic labels over name-brand labels on their likeliness to purchase. Additionally, a multiple linear regression analysis was conducted to identify which variable(s) best predicted a participant’s intent to buy. Of the three variables, informativeness, trustworthiness, and aesthetics, informativeness was found to be the best predictor of likeliness to purchase. Further, demographic data were used as quasi variables to investigate their relation to the ratings. Among the demographic variables, gender was the only variable that did not have a significant effect on the ratings