On undesirable consequences of thinking: Framing effects as a function of substantive processing

Three studies investigate the impact of effortful constructive processing on framing effects. The results replicated previous findings: Participants avoided the risky option when the scenario was framed in terms of gains, but preferred this option when the scenario was framed in terms of losses. Importantly, framing effects were most pronounced when conditions allowed for an effortful constructive processing style (i.e., substantive processing). This impact of decision frames varied when decision time served as an indicator for the elaboration extent (Study 1), and also when processing motivation (accountability; Study 2) and processing ability (decision time; Study 3) were manipulated. Moreover, effortful processing did not increase framing effects when contextual cues reduced the necessity for constructive thinking (Study 1). We suggest that decision frames may take on very different roles as a function of the ambiguity of the decision problem, and the degree and style of processing. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

[1]  Oswald Huber,et al.  Accounting and convincing: The effect of two types of justification on the decision process. , 2001 .

[2]  H. Grice.  Logic and conversation , 1975 .

[3]  Timothy D. Wilson,et al.  Introspecting about Reasons can Reduce Post-Choice Satisfaction , 1993 .

[4]  J. Neumann,et al.  Theory of games and economic behavior , 1945, 100 Years of Math Milestones.

[5]  Jerome S. Bruner,et al.  Going Beyond the Information Given , 2006 .

[6]  P. Tetlock,et al.  Accountability: a social magnifier of the dilution effect. , 1989, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[7]  I. Simonson,et al.  Choice Based on Reasons: The Case of Attraction and Compromise Effects , 1989 .

[8]  A. Tversky,et al.  Prospect Theory : An Analysis of Decision under Risk Author ( s ) : , 2007 .

[9]  Todd McElroy,et al.  On the other hand am I rational? Hemispheric activation and the framing effect , 2004, Brain and Cognition.

[10]  P. Tetlock.  Accountability: A social check on the fundamental attribution error. , 1985 .

[11]  Winston R. Sieck,et al.  Exposition Effects on Decision Making: Choice and Confidence in Choice , 1997 .

[12]  A. Tversky,et al.  The framing of decisions and the psychology of choice. , 1981, Science.

[13]  Andrew F. Simon,et al.  Decision framing: moderating effects of individual differences and cognitive processing , 2004 .

[14]  Philip E. Tetlock,et al.  Accountability and complexity of thought. , 1983 .

[15]  Michael Schulte-Mecklenbeck,et al.  The Effects of Framing, Reflection, Probability, and Payoff on Risk Preference in Choice Tasks. , 1999, Organizational behavior and human decision processes.

[16]  Efrat Neter,et al.  The effect of motivation of judgment depends on the difficulty of the judgment. , 1995 .

[17]  F. Strack,et al.  Explaining the Enigmatic Anchoring Effect: Mechanisms of Selective Accessibility , 1997 .

[18]  H A Allard.  NOTES ON TWO COMMON TURTLES OF EASTERN UNITED STATES. , 1909, Science.

[19]  Richard P. Larrick,et al.  Motivational factors in decision theories : the role of self-protection , 1993 .

[20]  Tilmann Betsch,et al.  Framing the framing effect: the impact of context cues on solutions to the ‘Asian disease’ problem , 1998 .

[21]  Irwin P. Levin,et al.  Need for Cognition and Choice Framing Effects , 1996 .

[22]  E. Higgins,et al.  Accessibility and Applicability: Some "Activation Rules" Influencing Judgment , 1995 .

[23]  H. Bless,et al.  The Conversational Basis for the Dilution Effect , 2005 .

[24]  Itamar Simonson,et al.  The effect of accountability on susceptibility to decision errors , 1992 .

[25]  A. Kühberger,et al.  The Influence of Framing on Risky Decisions: A Meta-analysis. , 1998, Organizational behavior and human decision processes.

[26]  Kazuhisa Takemura.  Effect of decision time on framing of decision : a case of risky choice behavior , 1992 .

[27]  John T. Cacioppo,et al.  The Elaboration Likelihood Model of Persuasion , 1986, Advances in Experimental Social Psychology.

[28]  J. Forgas.  Mood and judgment: the affect infusion model (AIM). , 1995, Psychological bulletin.

[29]  Schneider,et al.  All Frames Are Not Created Equal: A Typology and Critical Analysis of Framing Effects. , 1998, Organizational behavior and human decision processes.

[30]  P. Tetlock,et al.  Accounting for the effects of accountability. , 1999, Psychological bulletin.

[31]  E. Higgins.  Knowledge activation: Accessibility, applicability, and salience. , 1996 .

[32]  Eldar Shafir,et al.  Deep thoughts and shallow frames; on the susceptibility to framing effects. , 2003 .

[33]  S. Chaiken,et al.  Dual-process theories in social psychology , 1999 .

[34]  S. Chaiken,et al.  The psychology of attitudes. , 1993 .

[35]  A. Tversky,et al.  Prospect theory: analysis of decision under risk , 1979 .

[36]  J. Pligt,et al.  Influencing risk-preference in decision-making: The effects of framing and salience , 1995 .

[37]  Norbert Schwarz,et al.  Judgment in a Social Context: Biases, Shortcomings, and the Logic of Conversation , 1994 .

[38]  Kazuhisa Takemura,et al.  Influence of Elaboration on the Framing of Decision , 1994 .

[39]  Ola Svenson,et al.  Framing and Time Pressure in Decision Making , 1993 .

[40]  Norbert Schwarz,et al.  Making sense of standardized survey questions: The influence of reference periods and their repetition , 2002 .

[41]  Todd McElroy,et al.  Framing effects: An analytic–holistic perspective ☆ , 2003 .

[42]  A. Kruglanski,et al.  Separate or equal? Bimodal notions of persuasion and a single-process "unimodel" , 1999 .

[43]  Timothy D. Wilson,et al.  Thinking too much: introspection can reduce the quality of preferences and decisions. , 1991, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[44]  J. Cacioppo,et al.  The need for cognition. , 1982 .

[45]  J. I. Kim,et al.  Accountability and judgment processes in a personality prediction task. , 1987, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[46]  Thomas Mussweiler,et al.  Hypothesis-consistent testing and semantic priming in the anchoring paradigm: A selective accessibility model. , 1999 .