Perception Change in Rice Pest Management: A Case Study of Farmers' Evaluation of Conflict Information

Abstract

A simple rule-of-thumb, or heuristic, in pest management which was in conflict with farmers' prevailing perceptions was communicated to farmers to examine whether their cognitive dissonance would challenge them to evaluate it and change their misperceptions. The simple rule used was: "In the first 30 days after transplanting (or 40 days after sowing), leaffolder control is not necessary." The participatory experiments were carried out by 101 rice farmers. Although farmers' perceptions of pests and pesticide use were deeply entrenched, the simple experiment reduced their early-season insecticide applications and number of sprays. Farmers attitudes toward leaf-feeding insects also changed. Besides dissonance resolution, the main incentives that had encouraged farmers seemed to be money savings and labor reduction. Few studies in communication, if any, have explored the impact of the use of conflict information on changing farmers' perceptions. This article presents the results of a study which examined farmers' evaluation of conflict information and its influence on their perception changes in rice pest management. It also documents the process and effects of farmer experimentation with a simple decision rule or heuristic intended to correct their misperceptions.