Table 1 Results for hypotheses preregistered on the open science framework

The internal consistency of the scale is 0.85 or higher

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When reduced to the 20 items that correlate highest with the overall-score, the internal consistency of the scale will be 0.8 or higher

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Participants rate genetic technologies as morally good (above the midpoint of the scale)

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The rated moral goodness of genetic technologies is, on average, higher than that of conventional technologies

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The Genetic Technologies Questionnaire (GTQ) explains more variance of the respondents' choices in a third party dictator game in which money is distributed between an individual in favour of genetic technologies and an individual opposed to genetic technologies than the Conventional Technologies Questionnaire (CTQ)

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The GTQ explains more variance of the respondents' hypothetical donation choices towards charities who support genetic technologies than the CTQ

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The GTQ explains more variance of the respondents' self-reported purchases of genetically modified food than the CTQ

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Validity and predictivity

The higher participants score for Openness to Experience, the better they rate genetic technologies (mean rating GTQ, and Item GEN1)

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The higher participants score for Purity/Sanctity in the Moral Foundations Questionnaire, the worse they rate genetic technologies (mean rating GTQ, and Item GEN1)

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Participants distribute more money in a third-party dictator game to other participants who share their view of genetic technologies (predicted by the mean rating of the GTQ, and Item GEN1)

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Participants assign a greater share of donations in a hypothetical case to a charity that is aligned with their views on genetic technologies than to one that is not (based on the mean rating of the GTQ, and Item GEN1)

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Endorsement of genetic technologies measured by the GTQ is a significant predictor of consumer behavior. Particularly buying genetically modified food

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The higher participants' household income, the better they rate genetic technologies (mean rating GTQ, and Item GEN1)

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The higher the participant’s education (measure of education level, years of education) the higher the mean rating GTQ, and item GEN1

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The more religious participants consider themselves to be, the worse they rate genome editing (GT15-30)

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The more liberal participants consider themselves to be, the better they rate genetic technologies (mean rating GTQ, and item GEN1)

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Participants who voted for the Republican candidate rate genetic technologies lower than participants who voted for the Democratic candidate (mean rating GTQ, and item GEN1)

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Participants who already had experience with genetic tests rate genetic technologies as morally better (mean rating GTQ, and item GEN1)

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The more participants think they know about genetic technologies, the more extreme (trending away from the midpoint of the scale) they rate the morality of genetic technologies (positive or negative)

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Objective knowledge about genetics is negatively correlated with opposition to genetic technologies

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A discrepancy between self-assessed and objective knowledge about genetic technologies is positively correlated with opposition to genetic technologies

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Predictive power of single items/differences in content within the questionnaire

Genetic editing of human adults is regarded as better than that of embryos (the mean rating of GT18 is greater than that of GT19, that of GT15 is greater than that of GT22)

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Overall, ratings of genetic testing (GT1-8) correlate with ratings of genome editing (items GT15-30)

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Overall, ratings of genome editing are lower (morally worse) than of genetic testing (the mean rating of GT15-30 is lower than that of GT1-8)

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Participants self-identified as male rate the use of genetic technologies on animals (items GT5, 6, 23, 24, 27, 29) as morally better than participants self-identified as female

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Participants rate genetic technologies as morally better when they are used to improve nutritional value (GT28) or fight world poverty (GT25) than to improve taste (GT26), and when they are used to improve wellbeing (GT23) rather than to increase efficiency (GT6)

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Genome editing of embryos is rated as morally better when performed in order to prevent a fatal disease (GT17) than when used to prevent influenza (GT19)

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Genome editing of human adults is rated as morally better when performed in order to treat cancer (GT20) than when used to protect them against influenza (GT18)

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