Frame effect - implicit wisdom of life

Let’s look at a few slogans first:

Go out happily and come home safely and everyone will turn a blind eye

Drunk driving is really disappointing, the wife remarried and the children changed their surnames Everyone slowed down their vehicles

This section of road is dangerous, and 6 people have been killed in car accidents. Everyone slowed down their vehicles and increased their vigilance

Why are there different opinions on safe driving despite the same reminder? The level of emphasis is different?

The same thing, but different statements, lead to different decisions. Psychology calls it the "framing effect."

Kahneman, the 2002 Nobel Prize winner in economics and professor of psychology at Princeton University, discovered through psychological research: Regarding the same problem, two statements with similar logical meanings will lead to different results. decision-making judgment. He called this phenomenon the framing effect. That is, when a person describes the same thing, different expressions will give the listener different feelings, causing the listener to make two completely opposite decisions.

To put it simply, sometimes people change their preferences or decisions drastically, mainly because of the different words and ways they use to describe the problem.

The reason why it is called the framing effect means that our thinking will be affected by different frames and thus make different choices.

The Asian Disease Problem

The most famous example of the framing effect is the description of the Asian Disease Problem. The United States is dealing with an outbreak of a rare Asian disease that is expected to kill 600 people. There are two options available to combat the disease. Expressed from positive frames and negative frames respectively, people's decisions are completely opposite.

Positive Frame

Plan A, 200 people will survive

Plan B, there is a 1/3 chance that 600 people will survive, and a 2/3 chance Chance no one survives.

Negative Frame

Plan A, 400 people will die

Plan B, there is a 1/3 chance that no one will die, and a 2/3 chance Chances are 600 people will die.

Researcher Kahneman found that for the "positive frame", 72% of people will choose plan A to ensure that 200 people survive. For negative framing, 78% chose plan B, a gamble.

Positive frames and negative frames describe exactly the same probability of things, but they are expressed in different ways, but people’s decisions are completely opposite. Why? Because of the framing effect, it will psychologically guide people's decisions. Positive framing, people tend to choose risk aversion. Negatively framed, people tend to choose risk seeking.

Frame effects can be divided into three categories:

① Risk selection framework

In risk selection with probability issues, if the expression is different, the decision-making will be different. Same. Such as "Asian Disease Problem". Another example is the description of buying a lottery ticket:

Positive frame:

If a lottery has a 10% probability of winning 100 yuan and a 90% probability of getting nothing, you are willing to spend 5 yuan to buy it. ?

Negative frame:

If a lottery has a 10% probability of winning 95 yuan and a 90% probability of losing 5 yuan, do you accept it?

First of all, it takes time to figure out that these two problems are the same. Then, we found that more people were willing to buy lottery tickets under positive descriptions. However, fewer people are willing to buy under negative descriptions. A bad outcome is more likely to be accepted if it is described as the cost of a lottery ticket that does not win than if it is described simply as losing a bet. Losses can cause stronger negative effects than costs.

②Feature Framework

Sometimes describing one thing and describing it from different features will bring different feedback results. For example, when housewives go to the market to buy beef, we describe it as 75% lean meat, and people are more willing to buy it. If it is described as 25% fat, I will be even less willing to buy it. For example, if a hospital performs surgery on patients and says it has a 90% success rate, people will be more inclined to do the surgery. If we talk about the 10% mortality rate, if nothing else, people often don’t want to have surgery. Another example is the 2018 World Cup final. Ask France or Croatia who won. If France wins, most people will think of France's efforts and grand celebrations. If Croatia lost, it mostly reflects the reasons and frustration of Croatia's loss.

Therefore, different descriptions of problem characteristics will bring different feelings and decisions to others.

③Purpose frame

In order to achieve personal goals, individuals tend to choose positive or negative frame expressions, thus forming the purpose frame effect. For example, a good friend of yours wants to fall in love and asks you what you think of a middle-aged man. If you recognize a friend and state it in a positive frame, you will say that he is blessed, thrifty and well-managed. If you don't approve and state it negatively, you will say that he has gained weight and is very stingy. In fact, both statements are correct. However, the purpose of expression is different and the impact is different. For example, on a cloudy day, your child asks you to take him out to play. A positive frame would say, cloudy, no sun, neither cold nor hot, just right, just right for going out. The negative frame will say that it is cloudy, very dull, there is no blue sky and white clouds, it may rain, what fun is there to go out.

It can be seen that the purpose is different and the framework of choice of expression is different.

The reason for the framing effect is the difference in people's psychological reactions. Common explanation theories include: prospect theory, cognitive theory, and motivation theory.

1. Prospect theory believes that when people face gains, they avoid risks; but when they face losses, they turn into risk preferences.

2. Cognitive theory focuses on studying the cognitive process of measuring gains and losses. For example, the "cognitive gain-and-loss balance theory" suggests that the framing effect is the result of a balance between the requirements of making correct decisions and the principle of least effort.

3. Motivation theory explains the framing effect as the result of pleasant pressure. For example: when people face fear and hope, people pay more attention to unpleasant fear emotions, which is consistent with the "loss-induced" in prospect theory. The hypothesis is consistent with the hypothesis that emotions are stronger than those caused by equivalent gains.

Case 1

For example, two gas stations A and B have the same preferential policies. Cash payment is cheaper, but card payment requires a handling fee. But the expression is different.

Gas station A, the unit price of gas at this station is 5.6 yuan/liter, and the cash payment discount is 0.6 yuan.

Gas station B, the unit price of gas at this station is 5 yuan/liter, and there is an additional handling fee of 0.6 yuan/liter for payment by credit card.

In fact, people have a very good impression of gas station A, but they dislike gas station B very much. Because gas station A brings profits, while gas station B brings losses. Compared with equal amounts of gains and losses, people pay more attention to losses. One loss requires 2.5 shares of gain to feel psychologically balanced.

Therefore, in terms of commercial pricing, the total price can be set higher, and then additional benefits can be added, which will give people a better consumer experience. If the unit price is set low and some additional charging items are added, it will produce a lot of unpleasant experiences.

However, in industries sensitive to price disclosure, there are also successful cases of doing the opposite. For example, where to book flights, when comparing prices online, they are always the lowest. When you actually purchase it, you will find that the insurance is bundled with you. This is the inverse application of the framing effect. Therefore, you can’t read to death, you have to apply it flexibly.

Case 2.

A man bought a new and exciting sports car. His friends were very envious and wanted to borrow it and drive it for fun. But this man has long declared that the car is his second wife and will not be loaned out. This person is very principled, so it is difficult for everyone to speak up, knowing that if he does speak up, he will be rejected for various reasons.

But not long after, I discovered that there was a friend who could always borrow this sports car to drive. Everyone was very curious and asked this friend who could always borrow cars how he borrowed them from such a principled car owner. It turns out that this friend who always borrows a car didn't do much, he just told him what most people usually do after borrowing a car.

When I borrowed a car for the first time, I took the owner’s car to have tea with me. After getting in the car, this friend said: Mr. Such a nice car is so dirty? My friend owns a fine laundry shop and used to wash cars quickly and cleanly. And the gas is running out, so there is a gas station next to it, so you can fill up on the way.

He knew that the car owner already had friends waiting, so he definitely didn’t have time to go, and he was usually very busy, so he didn’t have time to wash the car. Sure enough, after the car owner complained that he was too busy at ordinary times, he said, you can drink first later, and I will wash the car for you and fill up the gas. So the first time I borrowed a car, I succeeded.

After the first time, it became much easier. When I borrow a car later, if I see that the car is dirty and the oil is half down, I will directly say, Mr. I'm going to wash your car, refuel your car, and take a ride to flirt with your little sister. Every time I borrow a car, there is always a success!

After reading this story, we can understand:

When people feel that a certain behavior brings "gain" rather than "loss", they will not be satisfied with the behavior. conflict.

When people feel that a certain behavior brings "losses" rather than "gains", they are very disgusted with the behavior.

As Charlie Munger said: "When you want to persuade others, appeal to interests, not to reason."

Case 3.

Positive and negative frames will have completely different psychological feelings.

It’s like a joke about female college students engaging in prostitution:

A well-known college student who works part-time as a prostitute will always be scorned and ravaged by keyboard warriors.

If a prostitute persists in going to college and learns skills to change her destiny. It is full of positive energy and inspirational.

The essence is the same, go to college and engage in prostitution. But the order is different and the effect is completely different.

It's like a small businessman selling melon seeds, and his business is very good. People asked him what his secret was.

There is no trick, he said. It's just that when weighing, others put in a lot first and then dial it out little by little until the weight is right. But I'm different. I always take a little less than my target, and then add more until I'm at the right weight. The former method of allocating some money feels like a shortfall and makes the customer feel a loss. The latter is added, which feels substantial and makes customers feel the benefits.

It was found that if the order is different, the psychological results will be different.

Case 4

Announcement of news

Announcement of news also has a strong framing effect.

1. How to announce two pieces of good news?

The answer is to announce them separately. Announce one today and one tomorrow. You can make the people close to you happy twice.

2. How to announce two pieces of bad news

The answer is to announce them together. Although the two pieces of bad news are bad, if they are told at once, they will be sad. If we talk about it in two parts, we will feel uncomfortable once today and once tomorrow. The discomfort will be doubled or even greater.

3. How to announce good news and bad news

If it is big good news and small bad news, announce them together. The good news will dilute the news and will not be affected by it. Bad news impact.

If there is small good news and big bad news, announce them separately. Bad news can be uncomfortable, but announcing it the next day can still increase pleasure and confidence.

The frame effect is actually a kind of wisdom. Its essence is the two sides of things and the order of things. In practical applications, the purposeful framework can be applied to grasp the order and angle, which will bring good results. Effect.