Ever feel like you’re being nudged into a decision without even realizing it? Is some invisible threads subtly altering your moves and shaping your decisions and choices, from grocery confusion to investment choices?
Whether one is scrolling through their phones, walking down the grocery aisles, browsing through a restaurant menu, or making financial decisions, there’s something hidden in plain sight that affects the choices you make in the above situations.
The way the words are framed in a sentence makes a bigger impact than we think it would. They have the power to mold our minds and influence our decisions, and once we understand it, we will start seeing it everywhere. The framing effect occurs when the decisions we make are influenced by the way words are presented, and it takes place when people react differently to something based on how it has been presented to them. Simply put, our choice would be influenced by how the information is presented rather than the content.
One of the most popular demonstrations of the framing effect is research during which the participants were asked to choose between two treatments for 600 people affected by a lethal disease. The choice was presented to the people with positive framing or negative framing– how many people would live or how many people would die. Treatment A had been chosen by 72% of people when the statement had been framed as “it saves 200 lives”, as opposed to the negative framing of the same sentence “400 people will die.”
More recent studies have been conducted in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, and researchers have found that the framing effect was operating at large. More people were influenced by how the several options were presented during the pandemic.
Here is one of the simplest, day-to-day, most relatable scenarios that explains this effect. If one comes across chocolates– one’s label says 85% fat-free, while the other says 15% fat, we are more inclined to choose the former option because it seems to be healthier, even though both are the same.
This seems simple on paper, but this effect tends to have the largest biases in decision-making about our finances or healthcare. Instances include choosing a high-risk investment because it seemed appealing when spoken about by others, voting for a political party that might do more harm than good all because of the words used by media that subtly nudge you over to the other side, or when health care assistants sway elder adults towards certain treatment options based on the way the medical treatment is presented.
All of these instances weigh heavily on us if we make the wrong decision– they have more impact on us than just grabbing a slightly expensive chocolate would have on us. This can be avoided by actively trying to identify the frame, evaluating it, switching perspectives and thinking holistically, and learning more about the decision and the options. By trying to reframe the options on your own and evaluating your options by avoiding the emotions, one can successfully avoid becoming victim to the framing effect.
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