What is Meant by Framing Effect – Causes & Examples
Published by at June 28th, 2023 , Revised On October 5, 2023
Before understanding the framing effect, ask yourself these questions:
- Do you want to be an independent thinker?
- Do you want to control how your brain works over certain information?
- Do you want to have more control over your life decisions and influence other people around you?
- Do you know that our daily decisions are influenced by how information is presented?
Different kinds of information can create different emotional responses. Often our decision-making ability is influenced unconsciously.
The framing Effect is a great phenomenon to learn, and it will help you realise your true potential and how your brain reacts to information. Framing is about how you present a piece of information. Giving information has a great impact on the receiver. Let’s look into the meaning of the framing effect in detail.
What is the Framing Effect?
The Framing Effect is a cognitive bias in which we get influenced by how information is presented.
For instance, if you are feeling sick or going through a major surgery and the doctors tell you that you have a 10 percent chance of dying. The patient would lose hope and get very nervous.
While on the other hand, if that same doctor tells you that you have a 90% chance of a speedy recovery, you definitely will feel a lot better. This is how the information presented to us brings about different responses. Though the information is the same, it is just conveyed differently.
Therefore, the information negatively presented to us will have negative consequences, while the information positively presented to us will result in positive responses.
What are the Causes of the Framing Effect?
The following points show how several factors cause the framing effect and how individuals present and perceive information:
- People may be persuaded to make alternative decisions when information is presented in different contexts, emphasising the possible rewards or losses.
- People frequently base their decisions on an instance. The reference point that people utilise might vary depending on how a situation or choice is framed, resulting in varied choices.
- Moreover, different emotional reactions that are produced by framing may have an impact on how decisions are made.
Good framing will develop good feelings, which may make possibilities more charming, whereas negative framing may evoke fear or caution, which may cause more cautious decisions.
Furthermore, perceptions of risk can also be influenced by framing.
- When decisions are offered regarding prospective benefits, people tend to be more risk-averse to prevent losses. On the other hand, when options are presented in terms of possible losses, people could behave differently to limit those losses.
- People use cognitive biases to make fast and effective judgements, which can be blamed for the framing effect. These mental shortcuts can cause people to ignore some aspects of a decision or situation while concentrating on others, resulting in biased judgements.
Examples of Framing Effect in Our Daily Life
You can observe framing effects in your daily routines. It impacts multiple aspects of our life. Let’s look at an example of the framing effect in finance.
Framing Effect In Finance
Framing Effect in finance can have severe consequences. For example, in the stock market, some information is provided to the investor so that he will get a 10 per cent profit. He will react normally, but if he is told that his stocks will go up. He can get double his investment every other year; how euphoric he would be.
The Framing Effect in Media and Advertisement
Another example is that suppose you go to a supermart to get ice cream, you see that once the ice cream is labelled 10 per cent fat only, there is another ice cream with a caption, 90 per cent fat-free.
However, all the other ingredients are the same. There are high chances that you will fall for this farming effect and get the ice cream which is 90 per cent fat-free.
Advertisers often use framing techniques to influence consumer behaviour. For instance, a product might be described as “new and improved,” which highlights the beneficial changes and might increase consumer attractiveness.
Similarly, price techniques like “buy one, get one free” or “limited time offer” present the product in a favourable light, emphasising its worth and highlighting its immediate importance.
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The Framing Effect on Political Campaigns
To influence public opinion, political candidates and campaigns frequently use the framing effect. They might explain an issue that highlights the advantages of their policies or paints their opponent’s position negatively.
Politicians alter public perception and voter decisions by framing the story in their favour.
Moreover, how news stories are presented can greatly impact the way readers interpret events and form judgements.
The headlines, tone, and language used in news coverage can subtly influence the audience’s perception of the underlying facts and affect how they interpret the story.
The Framing Effect on Health-Related Decisions
Imagine a situation where a patient is given two therapy options after receiving a diagnosis of a medical problem.
Option A has a 90% success rate, which indicates that 90% of patients who receive this treatment recover completely.
On the other hand, Option B is presented as having a 10% failure rate, meaning that 10% of patients who select this course of treatment do not have a successful outcome.
Although the two options are technically the same, the framing effect hypothesises that people may be more likely to select Option A because of its favourable framing as having a high success probability, even though the information is practically the same as Option B’s.
Another example can be a public health initiative to promote vaccination against a certain disease. Negative framing can incite fear, highlight potential drawbacks, and encourage people to act and be vaccinated.
However, the campaign frames the risk in terms of potential benefits, such as emphasising the benefits of vaccination on overall health and well-being.
In that case, people may be more likely to view the choice optimistically and take preventative measures to safeguard their health.
How to Avoid the Framing Effect?
Step-1: Be Aware
People can recognise when they are being framed simply by being aware of the framing effect and its effects. Learning about cognitive biases, such as the framing effect, might improve one’s critical thinking and decision-making capacity.
Step-2: Consider Multiple Frames
When making decisions, take into account other frames or views. You can get a complete understanding and lessen your chance of being affected only by the frame offered if you consciously consider other ways of framing the same information.
Step-3: Reframe the Problem
Try to rephrase the choice or issue in neutral words, stay clear of any discrimination, and emphasise a fair assessment.
By purposefully changing how the scenario is framed, you can promote a more impartial assessment of your options and lessen the influence of biased framing.
Step-4: Seek Diverse Perspectives
Taking part in conversations and looking for advice from other sources and viewpoints is important. You can confront your own biases and develop a deeper grasp of the subject at hand by combining several points of view.
Step-5: Take Time
Making hasty decisions makes it more likely that framing will have an impact. You may make better decisions and lessen the effects of biased framing by taking the time to consider your options, obtain information, and assess the benefits and drawbacks.
Frequently Asked Questions
The Framing Effect is a cognitive bias in which we get influenced by how information is presented.
The reference point people utilise greatly affects how a situation or choice is framed. Moreover, different emotional reactions that are produced by framing may have an impact on how decisions are made.
Advertisers often use framing techniques to influence consumer behaviour. For instance, a product might be described as “new and improved, will have a higher chance of getting sold.
Learning about cognitive biases, such as the framing effect, might improve one’s critical thinking and decision-making capacity. by taking the time to consider your options, obtain information, and assess the benefits and drawbacks.
Moreover, Try to rephrase the choice or issue in neutral words, stay clear of any discrimination, and emphasise a fair assessment.
