Michael B. Mazis

Deception by Implication: A Typology of Truthful but Misleading Advertising and Labeling Claims

The authors develop a new typology of truthful but misleading advertising and labeling claims. Although several typologies of deceptive or misleading advertising appear in the literature, the authors’ typology relies on legal cases as well as a diverse set of psychological theories to provide a richer and more comprehensive understanding of why consumers are likely to be misled by a particular type of deception. The goal is to generate a better appreciation of how consumers process various types of potentially misleading information and to explore implications for further research.

Longitudinal study of awareness, recall, and acceptance of alcohol warning labels

This research reports the results of a 5-year (1989–1993) longitudinal study on consumer awareness of warning messages on alcoholic beverage containers. Adjusting for false positives, about one-third of respondents in the 1993 survey were “very likely” or “somewhat likely” to believe that alcoholic beverages containers contain warning messages. However, reported awareness has shown only a small increase since 1991. Respondents were also asked to indicate the content of the warning message. Adjusting for false positives, about one-quarter of respondents mentioned either the birth defects or driving warnings. Recall of the birth defects message has shown steady growth, while recall of the driving message has failed to increase since 1991. The rate of learning about alcohol warnings varied by education level; more educated respondents learned about the warnings more quickly than did less educated respondents. Recall was greatest among young and “heavy” consumption segments; about 40 percent of respondents in these two segments recalled at least one of the warning messages.

Patient attitudes about two forms of printed oral contraceptive information.

The desired form and style of written drug information for patients were assessed in a national survey of oral contraceptive (OC) users. These women were queried about two forms of OC information: a short insert included with dispensed drugs and a longer brochure delivered by the physician upon patient request. Longer and more detailed information, especially concerning drug dangers and directions for use, was strongly preferred. Younger and more educated women were more likely to report receiving the OC brochure and to desire more comprehensive information. Most respondents found information in both the insert and the brochure clear and useful, and felt it was important to include written information with other prescription drugs. The longer brochure was preferred over the shorter insert as a model of drug information to be included with additional drugs.