The study, published in the Journal of Consumer Research, shows that consumers exposed to marketing for remedies – including smoking cessation and debt consolidation programs – are more likely to engage in risky behaviors like smoking and overspending.
“The existence of a remedy could suggest to these consumers that the risk is manageable,” explained the study authors, Lisa Bolton from the University of Pennsylvania, Joel Cohen from the University of Florida, and Paul Bloom from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. “Put simply, the remedy may take some of the risk out of risky behavior.”
Notably, remedies are not perceived this way by consumers who are not attracted to risky behaviors in the first place. According to the study – the first to investigate remedies as a class of products with implications for risk perception – these consumers see remedies as further evidence that the behaviors are risky and should be avoided. Worryingly, it is the consumers most at risk or in need of help who are most harmed by remedy marketing.