AbstractProfessionals often face conflicts of interest
that give them an incentive to provide biased advice, and disclosure (informing
advisees about the conflict) is frequently proposed as a solution to the
problem. We present six experiments that
reveal a previously unrecognized perverse effect of disclosure: While
disclosure can decrease advisees’ trust in the advice, it can also increase
pressure to comply with that advice if advisees feel obliged to satisfy their
advisors’ personal interests. Hence,
disclosure can burden those it is ostensibly intended to protect. Beyond demonstrating the effect, we show that
this increased pressure to comply with advice is reduced if (1) the disclosure
is provided by an external source rather than from the advisor, (2) the
disclosure is not common knowledge between the advisor and advisee, (3) the
advisee has an opportunity to change his/her mind later, or, (4) the advisee is
able to make the decision in private. |
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