Psychological influences on biosecurity control and farmer decision-making. A review

Abstract

There is an increase of biosecurity threats in agriculture because greater urbanisation and movement of humans means that pests migrate more easily than ever before. Poor management of biosecurity risks can lead to threats to human health, animal health and food or material production. Quality assurance programs and guidelines for best management practices exist in the plant and animal farming sector. However, there is scarce knowledge on individual decision-making relevant to biosecurity, motivation to implement protective behaviours and human adherence to biosecurity practices. Indeed, people have often long-term habits that are resistant to behaviour change initiatives. These conservative habits limit the effectiveness of risk management interventions and attention to new information that contradicts existing attitudes and beliefs. This paper reviews the potential influences of psychological, social and cognitive factors on biosecurity-related behaviour and management practices. The major aspects covered in this review are as follows: (1) underlying attitudes to biosecurity risk and perceived vulnerability to a biosecurity threat, (2) the influence of social incentives and social norms on individual behaviour, (3) motivational drivers and the notion of threat perception in engaging in protective behaviour, (4) consideration of emotional and cognitive biases in assessing risk and (5) the influence of pre-existing antecedents of decision-making beyond personal factors, such as context and policy within which decisions must be made. This review makes the critical point that human adoption and adherence to biosecurity practices is influenced by psychosocial factors and is an area of urgent research and policy consideration. An exploratory model is presented for future research and on-the-ground considerations, incorporating psychosocial influences on decision-making and potential mediating factors.