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Zoom URL: https://uni-frankfurt.zoom-x.de/j/62370923844?pwd=6Z8AuAvEP0SXDGORLTVRojU0WmbRPS.1
Meeting ID: 623 7092 3844
Password: 058049
Abstract:
The proliferation of mandatory disclosure raises two important questions. The first, widely studied, is whether these disclosures effectively inform recipients and influence their behavior. The second, often overlooked, is how disclosures interact with one another. To explore these questions, we conduct two pre-registered, large-scale eye-tracking studies with U.S. participants (N=600 and N=900), complemented by two smaller surveys (N=300 and N=500). Our experiments examine the impact of additional disclosure mandates in two contexts: restaurant menus and packaged food labeling. In the first study, we assess how the inclusion of carbon footprint information alongside calorie counts on restaurant menus affects consumer attention and perception. In the second study, we investigate the effects of Front-of-Pack (FOP) nutrition labeling. To ensure ecological validity, participants made consequential choices in a shopping simulation without being explicitly primed to focus on disclosures.
Our findings indicate that, in these domains, information provision neither improves comprehension nor influences behavior, while imposing significant cognitive costs on recipients. The result regarding FOP labeling is particularly timely, as the FDA is advocating for an FOP mandate based on an extensive literature review purportedly supporting its effectiveness. We systematically review this literature and demonstrate that it does not substantiate the FDA’s claim. Thus, our findings suggest that the FDA should reconsider its proposal or, at the very least, provide novel empirical evidence in support of an FOP mandate.
Finally, we examine the interaction among disclosures. Contrary to the assumption that additional information merely detracts from pre-existing disclosures, we observe a nuanced redistribution of attention. Moreover, we find that new mandates can alter perceptions of pre-existing information, highlighting the complex interplay between different disclosures.