Citation

Dohle S, Siegrist M. J. Health Psychol. 2013; 19(10): 1241-1249.

Affiliation

ETH Zurich, Switzerland.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2013, SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/1359105313488974

PMID

23740259

Abstract

The impact of pharmaceutical drug names on people's evaluations and behavioural intentions is still uncertain. According to the representativeness heuristic, evaluations should be more positive for complex drug names; in contrast, fluency theory suggests that evaluations should be more positive for simple drug names. Results of three experimental studies showed that complex drug names were perceived as more hazardous than simple drug names and negatively influenced willingness to buy. The results are of particular importance given the fact that there is a worldwide trend to make more drugs available for self-medication.

Language: en