Reframe the problem or the solution

1. Reframe the problem or the solution November 15, 2010

2. Overview • What is framing? • What can it do to help guide good choices? • What are some useful examples, and can we build on them?

3. Use reframing to make things stick

4. What is reframing? • It’s presenting the same option in different formats • This can change people’s opinions, choices, and preferences • Both formats are accurate, and convey the same information • The meaning of that information is what differs • REFRAMING: “Our new fan uses 50% less energy than our old fan!” versus “Our old fan uses twice as much energy as our new fan!” • NOT REFRAMING: “Our new fan uses 50% less energy than our old fan!” versus “Our new fan uses twice as much energy as our old fan!”

5. Make a good thing better… • Know your audience • Know your numbers • Know your reference point • Know your strengths

6. Reactive devaluation • Proposal offered by the Palestinians on 5/10/93 • “How good is the proposal for Israel (1-7)?” minus “How good is the proposal for the Palestinians (1-7)?

7. Party over policy • Participants evaluate a welfare reform bill • Some participants were told that the bill was written by Republicans, others told it was written by Democrats • Ps indicate (on a 1-7 scale) how much they are in favor of the bill Cohen, 2003

8. Make a good thing better… • Know your audience • Know your numbers • Know your reference point • Know your strengths

9. The cost of safety • School buses used to occasionally catch on fire • Safety features could have been added to newly built buses that would help prevent this from happening • These features would cost about $1000 per bus

10. The cost of safety • Some people were not in favor of adding these features • Their math: • 30,000 new buses per year X $1000 = an extra $30 million a year school districts would have to spend • Only about 30 schoolchildren died this way per year, so each saved life cost $1 million

11. The cost of safety • Fans of not burning children alive had different math • Buses usually last 10 years, so the cost per year per bus is only $100 • The cost per school day per bus is 56¢ • The cost per pupil per day is less than half of 1¢

12. Reframing

14. A treat • It’s hot, and you’re at the beach. You want a refreshment. How much would you pay for this Häagen Dazs ice cream?

15. Make a good thing better… • Know your audience • Know your numbers • Know your reference point • Know your strengths

16. Framing effects • Imagine that the country is preparing for the outbreak of an unusual disease, which is expected to kill 600 people. Two programs have been proposed. • 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 one will be saved • Imagine that the country… • If program C is adopted, 400 people will die • If program D is adopted, there is a 1/3 chance that nobody will die, and a 2/3 chance that 600 will die Tversky & Kahneman, 1981

17. Prospect theory

18. Prospect theory • People are risk averse when choosing among gains, and risk seeking when choosing among losses • Compare: • Winning $740 versus taking a 75% chance to win $1000 • Losing $750 versus taking a 75% chance to lose $1000 • Loss aversion: losses loom larger than gains • Consider a gamble where you have a 50% chance of winning $1000 and a 50% chance of losing $1000

19. Construal even happens in Japan! • Some investment advice

20. Construal and saving • Northwestern Mutual survey of 2,741 household decision makers (all bachelor’s degree or higher) earning at least $75,000. Survey conducted September 2003, with sample balanced and weighted according to U.S. Census averages. • Could you comfortably save 20% of your household’s annual income at this point in your life? • YES = 51% • Could you comfortably live on 80% of your household’s annual income at this point in your life? • YES = 77%

21. Mental accounting • Imagine that you have decided to see a play and paid the admission price of $20 per ticket. As you enter the theater, you discover that you have lost the ticket. The seat was not marked and the ticket cannot be recovered. • Would you pay $20 for another ticket? • 46% say yes Tversky & Kahneman, 1984

22. Mental accounting • Imagine that you have decided to see a play where admission is $20 per ticket. As you enter the theater, you discover that you have lost a $20 bill • Would you still pay $20 for a ticket to the play? • 88% say yes Tversky & Kahneman, 1984

23. Mental accounting • Why are people generally willing to buy a ticket after having lost $20, but not willing to buy another ticket after having lost their previous ($20) ticket? • It matters what “mental account” you file the loss under: • If you lose the ticket and buy another, you have just increased the price of the play to $40 • But if you lose $20 and then buy a ticket, the price of the play is still only $20

24. Make a good thing better… • Know your audience • Know your numbers • Know your reference point • Know your strengths

25. Framing effects • Pro-life versus pro-choice • Liberal versus progressive • Terrorists versus freedom fighters • Cash discounts versus credit card surcharges

28. Make a good thing better… • Know your audience • Know your numbers • Know your reference point • Know your strengths • Know your limits

30. Summary • If all else fails, redescribe your issue: • Emphasize (or deemphasize) the source • Do the math • Give a good starting place • Emphasize your best features