title: Fluency of pharmaceutical drug names predicts perceived hazardousness, assumed side effects and willingness to buy.
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.
authors.affiliation: ETH Zurich, Switzerland sdohle@ethz.ch.
authors.forename: Simone
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Dohle
authors.affiliation: ETH Zurich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Siegrist
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D004348:Drug Labeling / Q000592:standards*; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D004366:Nonprescription Drugs / Q000592:standards*; D057240:Patient Preference; D009626:Terminology as Topic; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D004366:Nonprescription Drugs
keywords: adherence; drugs; effectiveness; perception; risk; side effects