<p>I claim that &quot;warnings are more likely to be read and taken seriously, if they are well-written, without errors&quot;.  Is this claim supported by psychological science?</p>
<p>Like, a warning on a video showing risky extreme sports activities, to not try to imitate. If the warning is poorly written in English, is it more likely to be ignored and not taken seriously, and thus less effective? That is my hunch, but is it really supported by science?</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-10-11T18:32:13.463Z
Welcome. The background of your post is rather thin, and hence it may attract close-votes. I take the liberty to attempt to make your question premise a bit more solid in this comment.  I wish to add that as a referee for scientific journals, I have to actively remind myself not to be biased to take well-written manuscripts more seriously than work submitted by non-native English speakers. In other words, I notice that I (and peers around me as well) are biased to write more positive reviews in response to better written texts, supporting your claim. I like your question a lot.
AliceD
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-10-11T21:03:02.607Z
AliceD:  my question was about warnings, not journal articles. Like, a warning on an extreme sports video, to not try to imitate. If the warning is poorly written in English, is it more likely to be ignored and not taken seriously, and thus less effective.
Mark Galeck
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-10-12T07:31:03.250Z
I understand the question, I'm only trying to make the premise more solid for you, that's all.
AliceD
<language>
Are well-written warnings more likely to be heeded?
Mark Galeck
# Are well-written warnings more likely to be heeded?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2020-10-11)

I claim that "warnings are more likely to be read and taken seriously, if they are well-written, without errors". Is this claim supported by psychological science?

Like, a warning on a video showing risky extreme sports activities, to not try to imitate. If the warning is poorly written in English, is it more likely to be ignored and not taken seriously, and thus less effective? That is my hunch, but is it really supported by science?

**Tags:** language

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Welcome. The background of your post is rather thin, and hence it may attract close-votes. I take the liberty to attempt to make your question premise a bit more solid in this comment.  I wish to add that as a referee for scientific journals, I have to actively remind myself not to be biased to take well-written manuscripts more seriously than work submitted by non-native English speakers. In other words, I notice that I (and peers around me as well) are biased to write more positive reviews in response to better written texts, supporting your claim. I like your question a lot.  
> **username_0**: username_1:  my question was about warnings, not journal articles. Like, a warning on an extreme sports video, to not try to imitate. If the warning is poorly written in English, is it more likely to be ignored and not taken seriously, and thus less effective.  
> **username_1**: I understand the question, I'm only trying to make the premise more solid for you, that's all.  

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