Task

The task is based on Frisch (1993), which is the first within-subject design study of the framing effect. In the risk framing task, decision problems are presented to the participants who choose between a sure-thing option (A) and a risky-choice option (B). Participants respond on a 6-point scale ranging from 1 ("I would definitely choose option A") to 6 ("I would definitely choose option B"). Each decision problem has two versions, a gain version and a loss version. The two versions are identical, only the framing differs. In the task used by Berthet (2021), the wording of the items is slightly changed between the loss and gain versions.

In the attribute framing task, participants rate positively and negatively described versions of seven normatively equivalent events (e.g., judging the quality of ground beef labeled 80% lean or 20% fat). The gain (positive) and loss (negative) items appeared in separate blocks, with different item orders in each block.

Items (8 pairs of risk framing from Berthet, 2021)

Gain frames

1. Imagine that due to a restructuring plan, the Renault group will potentially have to lay off 6000 employees in France. The management is considering two plans to avoid such a situation:

• If plan A is adopted, 2000 jobs will be saved.

• If plan B is adopted, there is a 1/3 chance of saving the 6000 jobs and a 2/3 chance that no job will be saved.

Which option would you choose? [Adapted from Bazerman (1984)]

2. Imagine a storm approaching a city of 150 000 people. If nothing is done, 12 000 homes could be degraded. Public authorities must choose between two interventions:

• If plan A is adopted, 3000 homes will be saved.

• If plan B is adopted, there is a 25% chance of saving all 12 000 homes and a 75% chance that no home will be saved.

Which option would you choose? [Adapted from Fischhoff (1983)]

3. Imagine that after a serious traffic accident, 60 people are stranded in a tunnel. Public authorities must choose between two interventions:

• If plan A is adopted, 20 people will be saved.

• If plan B is adopted, there is a 1/3 chance of saving 60 people and a 2/3 chance of not saving anyone.

Which option would you choose? [Adapted from Wang (1996)]

4. Imagine that you have just spilled liquid on your external hard drive. 12 GB of personal data is at stake. You must quickly choose between two options:

• If you choose option A, you will save 3 GB of data.

• If you choose option B, there is a 1/4 chance of saving your 12 GB of data and a 3/4 chance that you will save no data.

Which option would you choose? [Adapted from Svenson and Benson (1993)]

5. Imagine that a group of 20 patients with the same heart disease have to undergo surgery. Doctors must choose between two interventions:

• If intervention A is chosen, 6 patients will be cured.

• If intervention B is chosen, there is a 30% chance that all 20 patients will be cured and a 70% chance that none will be cured.

Which option would you choose? [Svenson and Benson (1993)]

6. Imagine that an autonomous car out of control is rushing into a city crowd. If nothing is done, the accident will cause 120 deaths. Public authorities must choose between two interventions:

• If intervention A is chosen, 30 people will be saved.

• If intervention B is chosen, there is a 25% chance of saving 120 people and a 75% chance that no one will be saved.

Which option would you choose? [Adapted from Svenson and Benson (1993)]

7. Imagine that France is preparing for the outbreak of an unusual Asian disease, which is expected to kill 600 people. Two alternative programs to combat the disease have been proposed. Assume that the exact scientific estimates of the consequences of the programs are as follows:

• If program A is adopted, 200 people will be saved.

• If program B is adopted, there is a 1/3 chance that 600 people will be saved, and a 2/3 chance that no people will be saved.

Which option would you choose? [Tversky and Kahneman (1981)]

8. Imagine that signs of contamination of drinking water with tritium (an isotope released from nuclear power stations) have been reported. If nothing is done, the 5000 inhabitants of the nearest town could be poisoned. Public authorities must choose between two interventions:

• If intervention A is chosen, 1500 residents will be saved from poisoning.

• If intervention B is chosen, there is a 30% chance of saving all 5000 inhabitants and a 70% chance that no people will be saved.

Which option would you choose? [Adapted from Fagley and Kruger (1986)]

Loss frames

1. Imagine that due to a restructuring plan, a company in the Metallurgy sector will potentially have to lay off 6000 employees in France. The management is considering two plans to avoid such a situation:

• If plan A is adopted, 4000 employees will be laid off.

• If plan B is adopted, there is a 1/3 chance of not firing any employee and a 2/3 chance of firing the 6000.

Which option would you choose?

2. Imagine a tsunami approaching a city of 150 000 people. If nothing is done, 12 000 homes could be degraded. Public authorities must choose between two interventions:

• If plan A is adopted, 9000 homes will be degraded.

• If plan B is adopted, there is a 25% chance that no home will be affected and a 75% chance that all 12 000 homes will be affected.

Which option would you choose?

3. Imagine that after a fire in a college, 60 students are stranded in a classroom. Firefighters must choose between two interventions:

• If plan A is adopted, 40 students will die.

• If plan B is adopted, there is a 1/3 chance that no student will die and a 2/3 chance that all 60 students will die.

Which option would you choose?

4. Imagine that your laptop is attacked by a computer virus. 12 GB of personal data is at stake. You must quickly choose between two options:

• If you choose option A, you will lose 9 GB of data.

• If you choose option B, there is a 1/4 chance of not losing any data and a 3/4 chance of losing all data.

Which option would you choose?

5. Imagine that a group of 20 patients with the same cancer have to undergo surgery. Doctors must choose between two interventions:

• If intervention A is chosen, 14 patients will die.

• If intervention B is chosen, there is a 30% chance that no patient will die and a 70% chance that all 20 patients will die.

Which option would you choose?

6. Imagine that a train out of control is about to derail near a village. If nothing is done, the accident will cause 120 deaths. Public authorities must choose between two interventions:

• If intervention A is chosen, 90 people will die.

• If intervention B is chosen, there is a 25% chance that no one will die and a 75% chance that 120 people will die.

Which option would you choose?

7. Imagine that France is preparing to face an epidemic wave that is expected to cause 600 deaths. Medical specialists have put forward two programs to deal with this situation. According to them, the effects of these programs are as follows:

• If program A is adopted, 400 people will die.

• If program B is adopted, there is a 1/3 chance that nobody will die, and a 2/3 chance that 600 people will die.

Which option would you choose?

8. Imagine that there are signs of a radioactive gas leak at a nuclear power station. If nothing is done, the 5000 inhabitants of a nearby municipality could be poisoned. Public authorities must choose between two interventions:

• If intervention A is chosen, 3500 inhabitants will be poisoned.

• If intervention B is chosen, there is a 30% chance that no inhabitant will be affected and a 70% chance that the 5000 inhabitants will be affected.

Which option would you choose?

Scoring

Consistent with prospect theory (Kahneman & Tversky, 1979), the framing bias score is calculated as the difference (rather than the absolute difference) between the mean ratings of the loss frames and the mean ratings of the gain frames.