Interesting article - thanks Carlos
The article quotes, but does not fully counter an opinion commonly
held by recipients of unrestricted grants: “How could unrestricted
grants, ..., possibly be problematic?"
Anyone who does not understand why this IS problematic should (a)
enquire into the motivations for the seeming altrusim; (b) learn a
little a about primate behaviour: you groom me, and I will groom you;
and (c) read Robert Cialdini's work on the psychology of "compliance
professionals", the marketing people who get you to buy their
products, politicians who get you to vote for them, and leaders who
get you to follow them.
Cialdini identified 6 principles, or emotional buttons that compliance
professionals push. The most relevant to bias induced by unrestricted
grants are:
Reciprocity
a gift of a pen or a coffee or an unrestricted grant creates the
expectation of a reciprocal "gift" (reciprocal grooming as a
primatologist would see it)
Consistency in keeping commitments
accepting an unresticted grant entails a small public commitment,
and this has a large potential for biasing future judgements
Authority
accepting an unrestricted grant exposes your expertise and makes
you a more effective thought leader
Social proof
people follow the lead of others, like those given unrestricted grants
Daniel Kahneman has a great checklist for debiasing decisions. I
wonder if they have been applied to research funded by unrestricted
grants?
Here is are a some starting points for more reading:
Games primates play. Dario Maestripieri.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Games-Primates-Play-Investigation-Relationships/dp/0465031676/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1344433255&sr=8-1
Harnessing the science of persuasion
Robert B Cialdini
Harvard Business Review Oct 2001
http://www.salescognition.com/articles/Harnessing%20the%20Science%20of%20Persuasion%20by%20Cialdini.pdf
The Big Idea: Before You Make That Big Decision...
Daniel Kahneman, Dan Lovallo, and Olivier Sibony
Harvard Business Review June 2011
http://hbr.org/2011/06/the-big-idea-before-you-make-that-big-decision/ar/1
Michael
COI statement: I have (in the distant past) been the willing recipient
of an unrestricted research grant from industry
On 8/8/12, Dr. Carlos Cuello <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> Interesting question
>
> http://the-scientist.com/2012/08/07/opinion-bias-is-unavoidable/
>
>
>
>
> --
> Carlos A. Cuello-García, MD
> Centre for Evidence-Based Practice & Knowledge Translation
> Iberoamerican Cochrane Collaboration
> Tecnologico de Monterrey School of Medicine & Health Sciences
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