Protecting consumers from fraudulent health claims: A taxonomy of psychological drivers, interventions, barriers, and treatments

Douglas MacFarlane, Mark J. Hurlstone and Ullrich K.H. Ecker

Social Science & Medicine, 2020, vol. 259, issue C

Abstract: Fraudulent health claims—false or misleading claims used to promote health remedies that are untested, ineffective, and often harmful—cause extensive and persistent harm to consumers. To address this problem, novel interventions are needed that address the underlying cognitive mechanisms that render consumers susceptible to fraudulent health claims. However, there is currently no single framework of relevant psychological insights to design interventions for this purpose. The current review aims to address this gap.

Keywords: Health fraud; Pseudoscience; Causal illusions; Misinformation; Behaviour change; Evidence-based interventions; Social norms; Motivated reasoning (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2020.112790

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