Framing Effects: Behavioral Dynamics and Neural Basis

Abstract

Research on framing effects has been one of few multidisciplinary endeavors joined by psychologists, economists, political scientists, and management and marketing researchers. Framing effects epitomize the power of linguistic subtlety in regulating decision-making, showing that different ways of framing, phrasing, or presenting virtually identical choice options systematically affect risk preference, evaluation of experience, and persuasiveness of messages. Given its central role in the studies of decision biases, the framing effect has been used as an experimental probe for understanding general mechanisms of human judgment and decision-making. Researchers have proposed various models explaining the framing effect. However, it was not until recently that research of framing effects started to focus more on psychological mechanisms above and beyond phenomenology. We conducted a meta-analysis of neural correlates of framing effects. The topographic convergences from a total of 26 foci found in the fMRI studies of framing effects revealed two key brain areas underlying framing effects: the left anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and the right inferior frontal gyrus (IFG). Together with behavioral findings, these results suggest that valence framing as a secondary cue becomes most salient and effective when primary contextual or social cues are absent or incongruent. The processing of choice problems under these conditions call for an ambiguity-reducing and conflict-monitoring function, which would result in the ACC activation. Second, the right IFG activation suggests that the nature of valence framing is both semantic and hedonic, involving not only verbatim linguistic analysis, but also interpretation of its affective tones and metaphorical implications.