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Biases in medical decision-making: A cross-medication comparison.
Michele Cantarella1, Simona Cantarella2, Francesca Zaninotto3
1Technical University of Denmark & IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca, Denmark.
Economics and Human Biology
|February 10, 2026
Summary
Cognitive biases in medical decisions vary by medication type, even with equal risks. People are more swayed by side effect information for vaccines, influenced by hesitancy and anxiety.
Area of Science:
- Medical Decision-Making
- Cognitive Psychology
- Health Economics
Background:
- Understanding cognitive biases is crucial for effective medical decision-making.
- Objective risks of side effects are often constant across different medication types.
- Individual responses to risk information can be influenced by medication type.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if cognitive biases in medical decision-making differ across medication types.
- To analyze how objective risks of side effects influence choices when held constant.
- To identify factors contributing to variations in medication-taking behavior.
Main Methods:
- Utilized survey data and a stated-choice experiment.
- Compared hypothetical medication-taking responses across four medication choices (vaccines, therapeutic interventions).
- Examined four combinations of trials and side effects.
Main Results:
- Individuals generally exhibit rational behavior, preferring lower risks.
- Responses to risk information systematically differ by medication type.
- Increased susceptibility to salient side-effect information, particularly for vaccines, even with identical overall risks.
Conclusions:
- Cognitive biases in medical decision-making are medication-type dependent.
- Vaccine decisions are more susceptible to salient side-effect information.
- Vaccination hesitancy and illness-related anxiety significantly explain vaccine-specific biases.
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