Speaking between the lines: Speakers’ role in framing effect

Abstract

Framing effect research traditionally focuses on how different formulations of informationally equivalent messages affect listeners. Primarily, this equivalence is understood through a self-evident formal logic. Whether positively and negatively framed messages are equivalent in a broader, psychological sense has only recently been raised, and evidence remains scarce. We contribute by testing whether speakers use framing to implicitly convey their recommendations. In an experimental study, a scenario describing a potentially harmful procedure was presented to 119 participants, who were assigned roles of physicians or car mechanics. Their task was to convey instruction-based recommendations on whether to undertake the procedure, using only a positive or negative framing. The main finding is that participants in both roles used framing to implicitly convey recommendations, with physicians being more likely to use positive framing. Specifically, most participants instructed to recommend the procedure used positive framing. Nearly all mechanics used negative framing to discourage the procedure, while physicians were equally likely to use either frame. With no instruction on what to recommend, almost all physicians used positive framing, while mechanics were the same likely to use either frame. Presumably, this ability to speak between the lines implies also the ability to read between them. Should further research support this assumption, the effectivity of framing-based measures to shape behavior may hinge on the lens through which listeners interpret the intentions behind speakers’ framing choices.