Are move options always better? The attraction effect in physicians' decisions about medications

Consumer choice research has shown that, contrary to normative theory, the introduction of an inferior alternative to an existing choice set can incre ase the likelihood that one of the original alternatives will be chosen. Th is phenomenon, the attraction effect, is relevant to physician decision mak ing, particularly when the physician is in the role of a consumer who must make decisions about prescribing medications when a number of alternatives are available. To investigate the attraction effect in physician decision m aking, 40 internal medicine residents reviewed three patient cases (concern ing depression, sinusitis, and vaginitis) and then chose the most appropria te medication for each patient. In some versions of the cases, two medicati on options were available. Other versions included a third medication (the decoy) that was inferior in every way to one of the original options (the t arget) but not to the other (the competitor). The results showed that addit ion of the "decoy" medication increased the likelihood of choosing the targ et medication. That is, the attraction effect does occur in physicians' dec isions about medications. Physicians should be aware of this bias when eval uating or suggesting several similarly attractive medications or treatment options for the same medical condition.