Side effects may include confusion and irritability.
Marketers for direct-to-consumer medication often trick consumers, downplaying the risks of drugs by presenting too many possible dangers simultaneously, according to a study.
The research, conducted by a team at the University of Michigan and published in the journal Nature Human Behaviour, reveals that when a drug advertisement throws too many risks at you — we all know the oft-parodied endless scroll of side effects with a speedy narrator — the less risky a drug is perceived to be by consumers. It’s a psychological phenomenon called “the dilution effect.”
