Sunita Sah
Biographic Data
| ID | 1919672 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Sunita Sah |
| GIVEN NAMES | Sunita |
| FAMILY NAME | Sah |
| SIGNATURE | SAH S |
| AFFILIATIONS | Cornell University |
| ORCID | 0000-0003-1671-4414 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 11 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 31 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 11 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2012 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 3 |
Kicking Yourself: Going Against Your Inclinations Leads to Greater Feelings of Control and Culpability
Despite knowing better, people often follow the opinions of others when making decisions. Although people in joint evaluation mode (i.e., comparing options side-by-side) anticipate feeling less culpable if things go wrong after following someone else’s suggestion, our research shows the opposite effect when they actually experience one of the options. Across multiple studies ( n = 3,200), including four with real monetary consequences, we find th…
How Should the US Federal Government Oversee Clinicians’ Relationships With Industry
Many clinicians, including those who work in government, experience potential clashes between their professional responsibilities and personal interests that can create conflicts of interest (COIs). Some clinicians might assert that their personal stakes do not influence their professional actions, but data suggest otherwise. This commentary on a case suggests that COIs must be acknowledged with sincerity and managed such that they are eliminated…
The paradox of disclosure: Shifting Policies From Revealing to Resolving Conflicts of Interest
This paper explores the complexities and unintended consequences of conflict of interest (COI) disclosures in various professional settings. It highlights key psychological processes encountered by recipients of such disclosures. Notably, it describes the burden of disclosure effect, which paradoxically reduces trust while increasing compliance due to social pressures, and disclosure's expertise cue , where disclosures inadvertently increase trus…
Science Communication as a Collective Intelligence Endeavor: A Manifesto and Examples for Implementation
Effective science communication is challenging when scientific messages are informed by a continually updating evidence base and must often compete against misinformation. We argue that we need a new program of science communication as collective intelligence—a collaborative approach, supported by technology. This would have four key advantages over the typical model where scientists communicate as individuals: scientific messages would be inform…
When Science Becomes Embroiled in Conflict: Recognizing the Public's Need for Debate while Combating Conspiracies and Misinformation
We explore the common attributes of political conflicts in which scientific findings have a central role, using the COVID-19 pandemic as a case study, but also drawing on long-standing conflicts over climate change and vaccinations. We analyze situations in which the systematic spread of disinformation or conspiracy theories undermines public trust in the work of scientists and prevents policy from being informed by the best available evidence. W…
Ten considerations for effectively managing the Covid-19 transition
Governments around the world have implemented measures to manage the transmission of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). While the majority of these measures are proving effective, they have a high social and economic cost, and response strategies are being adjusted. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that communities should have a voice, be informed and engaged, and participate in this transition phase. We propose ten considerations…
Conflict of interest disclosure with high-quality advice: The disclosure penalty and the altruistic signal
Advisors often have conflicts of interest: a potential clash between professional responsibilities and self-interests. Disclosure — informing advisees of the conflict — is a common policy response to manage such conflicts. However, extant research on disclosure has often confounded disclosure with poor quality advice. In this paper, we explore whether laws requiring conflict of interest disclosure damage the advisor-advisee relationship more than…
Understanding the (perverse) effects of disclosing conflicts of interest: A direct replication study
Policy solutions to conflicts of interest: The value of professional norms
Advisors, such as physicians, financial advisors, lawyers and accountants, often face a conflict of interest – that is, a clash between their professional and personal interests. Such conflicts can lead to biased and corrupt advice. In this paper, I focus on how conflicts of interest can cause good people to unintentionally cross ethical boundaries and how we can avoid succumbing to this bias. I first discuss two mechanisms through which advisors…
More Affected = More Neglected: Amplification of Bias in Advice to the Unidentified and Many
Professionals often give advice to many anonymous people. For example, financial analysts give public recommendations to trade stock, and medical experts formulate clinical guidelines that affect many patients. Normatively, awareness of the advice-recipient’s identity should not influence the quality of advice, and when advice affects a larger number of people, if anything, greater care should be taken to ensure its accuracy. Yet, contrary to thi…
The burden of disclosure: Increased compliance with distrusted advice
Professionals 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 6 experiments that reveal a previously unrecognized perverse effect of disclosure: Although disclosure can decrease advisees' trust in the advice, it can also increase pressure to comply with that advice if advisees feel obliged t…
Ten considerations for effectively managing the Covid-19 transition
Governments around the world have implemented measures to manage the transmission of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). While the majority of these measures are proving effective, they have a high social and economic cost, and response strategies are being adjusted. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that communities should have a voice, be informed and engaged, and participate in this transition phase. We propose ten considerations…
The burden of disclosure: Increased compliance with distrusted advice
Professionals 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 6 experiments that reveal a previously unrecognized perverse effect of disclosure: Although disclosure can decrease advisees' trust in the advice, it can also increase pressure to comply with that advice if advisees feel obliged t…
When Science Becomes Embroiled in Conflict: Recognizing the Public's Need for Debate while Combating Conspiracies and Misinformation
We explore the common attributes of political conflicts in which scientific findings have a central role, using the COVID-19 pandemic as a case study, but also drawing on long-standing conflicts over climate change and vaccinations. We analyze situations in which the systematic spread of disinformation or conspiracy theories undermines public trust in the work of scientists and prevents policy from being informed by the best available evidence. W…
Policy solutions to conflicts of interest: The value of professional norms
Advisors, such as physicians, financial advisors, lawyers and accountants, often face a conflict of interest – that is, a clash between their professional and personal interests. Such conflicts can lead to biased and corrupt advice. In this paper, I focus on how conflicts of interest can cause good people to unintentionally cross ethical boundaries and how we can avoid succumbing to this bias. I first discuss two mechanisms through which advisors…
The paradox of disclosure: Shifting Policies From Revealing to Resolving Conflicts of Interest
This paper explores the complexities and unintended consequences of conflict of interest (COI) disclosures in various professional settings. It highlights key psychological processes encountered by recipients of such disclosures. Notably, it describes the burden of disclosure effect, which paradoxically reduces trust while increasing compliance due to social pressures, and disclosure's expertise cue , where disclosures inadvertently increase trus…
Science Communication as a Collective Intelligence Endeavor: A Manifesto and Examples for Implementation
Effective science communication is challenging when scientific messages are informed by a continually updating evidence base and must often compete against misinformation. We argue that we need a new program of science communication as collective intelligence—a collaborative approach, supported by technology. This would have four key advantages over the typical model where scientists communicate as individuals: scientific messages would be inform…
More Affected = More Neglected: Amplification of Bias in Advice to the Unidentified and Many
Professionals often give advice to many anonymous people. For example, financial analysts give public recommendations to trade stock, and medical experts formulate clinical guidelines that affect many patients. Normatively, awareness of the advice-recipient’s identity should not influence the quality of advice, and when advice affects a larger number of people, if anything, greater care should be taken to ensure its accuracy. Yet, contrary to thi…
The burden of disclosure: Increased compliance with distrusted advice
Professionals 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 6 experiments that reveal a previously unrecognized perverse effect of disclosure: Although disclosure can decrease advisees' trust in the advice, it can also increase pressure to comply with that advice if advisees feel obliged t…
Policy solutions to conflicts of interest: The value of professional norms
Advisors, such as physicians, financial advisors, lawyers and accountants, often face a conflict of interest – that is, a clash between their professional and personal interests. Such conflicts can lead to biased and corrupt advice. In this paper, I focus on how conflicts of interest can cause good people to unintentionally cross ethical boundaries and how we can avoid succumbing to this bias. I first discuss two mechanisms through which advisors…
Conflict of interest disclosure with high-quality advice: The disclosure penalty and the altruistic signal
Advisors often have conflicts of interest: a potential clash between professional responsibilities and self-interests. Disclosure — informing advisees of the conflict — is a common policy response to manage such conflicts. However, extant research on disclosure has often confounded disclosure with poor quality advice. In this paper, we explore whether laws requiring conflict of interest disclosure damage the advisor-advisee relationship more than…
Understanding the (perverse) effects of disclosing conflicts of interest: A direct replication study
Ten considerations for effectively managing the Covid-19 transition
Governments around the world have implemented measures to manage the transmission of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). While the majority of these measures are proving effective, they have a high social and economic cost, and response strategies are being adjusted. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that communities should have a voice, be informed and engaged, and participate in this transition phase. We propose ten considerations…
When Science Becomes Embroiled in Conflict: Recognizing the Public's Need for Debate while Combating Conspiracies and Misinformation
We explore the common attributes of political conflicts in which scientific findings have a central role, using the COVID-19 pandemic as a case study, but also drawing on long-standing conflicts over climate change and vaccinations. We analyze situations in which the systematic spread of disinformation or conspiracy theories undermines public trust in the work of scientists and prevents policy from being informed by the best available evidence. W…
How Should the US Federal Government Oversee Clinicians’ Relationships With Industry
Many clinicians, including those who work in government, experience potential clashes between their professional responsibilities and personal interests that can create conflicts of interest (COIs). Some clinicians might assert that their personal stakes do not influence their professional actions, but data suggest otherwise. This commentary on a case suggests that COIs must be acknowledged with sincerity and managed such that they are eliminated…
The paradox of disclosure: Shifting Policies From Revealing to Resolving Conflicts of Interest
This paper explores the complexities and unintended consequences of conflict of interest (COI) disclosures in various professional settings. It highlights key psychological processes encountered by recipients of such disclosures. Notably, it describes the burden of disclosure effect, which paradoxically reduces trust while increasing compliance due to social pressures, and disclosure's expertise cue , where disclosures inadvertently increase trus…
Science Communication as a Collective Intelligence Endeavor: A Manifesto and Examples for Implementation
Effective science communication is challenging when scientific messages are informed by a continually updating evidence base and must often compete against misinformation. We argue that we need a new program of science communication as collective intelligence—a collaborative approach, supported by technology. This would have four key advantages over the typical model where scientists communicate as individuals: scientific messages would be inform…
Kicking Yourself: Going Against Your Inclinations Leads to Greater Feelings of Control and Culpability
Despite knowing better, people often follow the opinions of others when making decisions. Although people in joint evaluation mode (i.e., comparing options side-by-side) anticipate feeling less culpable if things go wrong after following someone else’s suggestion, our research shows the opposite effect when they actually experience one of the options. Across multiple studies ( n = 3,200), including four with real monetary consequences, we find th…
Psychology (9 works) · Political science (8 works) · Social Psychology (8 works) · Computer Science (6 works) · Law (6 works) · Public relations (6 works) · Social Psychology (6 works) · Business (5 works) · Conflict of interest (5 works) · Pharmaceutical industry and healthcare (5 works)