Ghasemi, Omid;
Harris, Adam JL;
Newell, Ben R;
(2025)
From preference shifts to information leaks: examining individuals' sensitivity to information leakage in the framing effect.
Cognition
, 258
, Article 106087. 10.1016/j.cognition.2025.106087.
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Abstract
The framing effect is a highly robust phenomenon, wherein logically equivalent options (e.g., 90% chance of winning vs. 10% chance of losing) trigger different preferences. The Information Leakage account provides a rational interpretation of this effect by suggesting that choice of frame ‘leaks’ information to decision-makers, making the frames informationally non-equivalent. For example, decision-makers might interpret a positive frame (e.g., 90% chance of winning) as an implicit recommendation to take a risk. In a series of six preregistered experiments (total N = 1211), we manipulated the informativeness of frames by 1) reducing the perceived freedom of a speaker to choose a frame (the Choice Limitation manipulation), and 2) varying the communication context between the speaker and the listener from collaborative to competitive (the Interest Alignment manipulation). We expected a diminished framing effect in scenarios where the leaked information conveys no useful or trustworthy cues. While the Choice Limitation manipulation occasionally attenuated the framing effect, particularly in within-subject designs, the Interest Alignment manipulation consistently led to a reduction in the framing effect in both within-subject and between-subject designs. These findings show that individuals can be adaptable and sensitive to the informational value of frames and suggest that competition prompts inferences more readily than a speaker’s agency over the choice of frame. The implications of these results for rational accounts of framing effects are discussed.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | From preference shifts to information leaks: examining individuals' sensitivity to information leakage in the framing effect |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.cognition.2025.106087 |
| Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cognition.2025.106087 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | © 2025 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. under a Creative Commons license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). |
| Keywords: | Framing effect; information leakage; adaptable decision-making; choice-architecture; bias; rationality |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > Div of Psychology and Lang Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > Div of Psychology and Lang Sciences > Experimental Psychology |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10204955 |
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