The Social Disvalue Misconception in Clinical Research

Q: What does this research mean for the field?

In addition to the social value misconception, clinical research is also subject to a 'social disvalue misconception' regarding false beliefs about a study's potential impacts on non-participants. Novelty: ClaimNovelty.INCREMENTAL. Consensus alignment: ConsensusAlignment.NEUTRAL.

Nir Eyal; Marc Lipsitch; Peter G. Smith

doi:10.1080/15265161.2025.2526758

July 30, 2025The American Journal of BioethicsOpen Access

The Social Disvalue Misconception in Clinical Research

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Key Points

Examine the concept of the social disvalue misconception in clinical research ethics and characterize how flawed assumptions about collective risks or lack of social benefits affect trial conduct.
Conducted a normative ethical analysis of decision-making frameworks and consent standards in clinical research.
Evaluated the established framework of the social value misconception proposed by Earl, Dawson, and Rid to formulate the complementary concept of social disvalue.
Identifies that research participants and oversight bodies can systematically overestimate societal risks or discount positive public utility in trial designs.
Establishes that mitigating both social value and social disvalue misconceptions is necessary to maintain valid informed consent and proportionate ethical review.

Implication

Ethical analysis examines false beliefs regarding societal harms in clinical research, highlighting critical gaps in informed consent and trial evaluation.

Abstract

Earl, Dawson, and Rid (2025) characterize the “social value misconception” or “SVM” in clinical research, namely, “false beliefs about a study’s potential benefits for non-participants, or its expe...

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Cite This Study

Eyal et al. (2025) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/6aaa348b9e3fd5a09f0d2051 https://doi.org/10.1080/15265161.2025.2526758

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The Social Disvalue Misconception in Clinical Research

Key Points

Implication

Abstract

Discussion

Cite This Study

The Social Disvalue Misconception in Clinical Research

Key Points

Implication

Abstract

Discussion

Cite This Study

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