Antidepressant Direct-to-Consumer Advertising and Social Perception of the Prevalence of Depression: Application of the Availability Heuristic

This study examined the effect of antidepressant direct-to-consumer advertising (DTCA) on perceived prevalence of depression. A survey of Midwestern residents showed that those with high recall for antidepressant DTCA tended to estimate the prevalence of depression higher than those with low ad recall. However, with a source-priming cue before their estimation, the significant association was eliminated. Results indicate that people use antidepressant DTCA as a basis for their judgment of the prevalence of depression in normal situations where the veracity of information is not highlighted.