People are More Willing to Buy a Health Product if it References Neurotransmitters

Neuroscience information has a seductive allure among laypeople, such that scientific explanations are rated better if irrelevant brain facts are added. Despite the ubiquity of health messaging that invokes neurotransmitters (especially the DOSE neurotransmitters: dopamine, oxytocin, serotonin, and endorphins), it is not known if they have the same effect. Furthermore, we investigated whether the allure of DOSE neurotransmitters can increase willingness to purchase a product that claimed psychological benefits. An initial experiment with a small (N = 207) sample of university students yielded no effects. However, in a second experiment, we added conditions to create doubt that the product could deliver on its claims, and used a larger (N = 1001), more representative American sample. In this experiment, people were more likely to buy the product, and willing to pay slightly more, compared with a version that used psychological terms. These effects were associated with feelings of greater understanding of how these benefits were produced, when given the DOSE neurotransmitter explanation. These results indicate that the seductive allure of neuroscience among the public applies to popular neurotransmitters, and that this may impact real-world purchasing decisions.