The Framing Effect, identified by psychologists Amos Tversky and Daniel Kahneman in 1981, is a cognitive bias that demonstrates how the presentation of information can influence decision-making and judgments.

Aim: The Framing Effect experiment aimed to investigate how the framing of information affects individuals’ choices and preferences.

Method: In various experiments, participants were presented with the same information framed in different ways – either positively or negatively. For example, participants might be asked to choose between a medical treatment described as having a 70% success rate or a treatment described as having a 30% failure rate. The experiment measured participants’ choices and judgments based on the framing of the information.

Results: The Framing Effect typically shows that individuals’ decisions and judgments are influenced by the way information is framed. For example, people are more likely to choose a medical treatment when it is presented in terms of its success rate rather than its failure rate, even though the information is logically equivalent.

Factors identified: The Framing Effect highlights the importance of how information is presented and the psychological mechanisms underlying decision-making. It demonstrates the role of cognitive biases, such as loss aversion and risk perception, in shaping individuals’ choices.

Conclusion: The Framing Effect has significant implications for understanding human behavior and decision-making. It underscores the malleability of preferences and the susceptibility of individuals to subtle changes in the presentation of information.

Criticisms: While the Framing Effect is a well-documented phenomenon, critics have raised concerns about the generalizability of findings across different contexts and populations. Some argue that individual differences and situational factors may influence the magnitude of the effect.

Legacy: The Framing Effect has been widely studied and applied in various fields, including economics, marketing, and public policy. It has led to interventions aimed at promoting informed decision-making and mitigating the influence of framing biases in decision contexts.