Healthy Skepticism Library item: 4706

Warning: This library includes all items relevant to health product marketing that we are aware of regardless of quality. Often we do not agree with all or part of the contents.

Publication type: Journal Article

Cain DM, Loewenstein G, Moore DA.
The Dirt on Coming Clean: Perverse Effects of Disclosing Conflicts of Interest
The Journal of Legal Studies 2005; 34:1-25
http://www.cbdr.cmu.edu/mpapers/CainLoewensteinMoore2005.pdf

Abstract:

Conflicts of interest can lead experts to give biased and corrupt advice. Although disclosure is often proposed as a potential solution to these problems, we show that it can have perverse effects. First, people generally do not discount advice from biased advisors as much as they should, even when advisors’ conflicts of interest are disclosed. Second, disclosure can increase the bias in advice because it leads advisors to feel morally licensed and strategically encouraged to exaggerate their advice even further. As a result, disclosure may fail to solve the problems created by conflicts of interest and may sometimes even make matters worse.

Notes:

Official URL is http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/resolve?id=doi:10.1086/426699&erFro&erFrom=-5865837686719988574Guest