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Status quo bias drives public support for drug policy in the USA
Hamrak, Bence Simonovits, Gabor
Hamrak, Bence
Simonovits, Gabor
Title / Series / Name
Nature Human Behaviour
Publication Volume
Publication Issue
Pages
Author
Editors
Keywords
Social Psychology
Experimental and Cognitive Psychology
Behavioral Neuroscience
Experimental and Cognitive Psychology
Behavioral Neuroscience
Files
URI
https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14018/29095
Abstract
Substance regulation in the USA is in a crisis. Here we explore whether seemingly misaligned policies contradict public preferences or reflect biased citizen opinions. Using survey data (N = 5,053), we show that policy outcomes align with public opinion. We further demonstrate that regulatory preferences are driven by status quo bias: support for the legality of legal substances exceeds that for hypothetical drugs with corresponding properties (Δmedian drug = 39.33, 95% confidence interval 35.34 to 43.20), while the opposite holds for illegal drugs (Δmedian drug = −12.59, 95% confidence interval −15.44 to −9.87). Randomly assigning individuals to information about harm attenuates the status quo bias in the case of legal substances (Δmedian drug = −17.70, 95% confidence interval −22.35 to −13.05) but not for illegal ones. We discuss implications for public control over drug policies.
Topic
Publisher
Place of Publication
Type
Journal article
Date
2026-05-20
Language
ISBN
Identifiers
10.1038/s41562-026-02471-y