Framing problems

If we’re thinking well, we might suppose that if we were to make a particular choice on one occasion, we’d make the same choice if confronted with the same options in the same circumstances on another occasion.

But we know that people do not always do this and one common reason is the framing effect. The framing effect can make us respond differently to identical circumstances by changing the framing of those circumstances, by focusing our attention on particular aspects of the situation.

We are much more likely to choose an option described in positive terms, for instance, than one described negatively, even when the descriptions are actually the same.