- You are ill in hospital. The surgeon informs you that he could operate. If successful the operation will cure you completely. He tells you that 95% of patients survive the operation.
What do you decide?
- You are ill in hospital. The surgeon informs you that he could operate. If successful the operation will cure you completely. He tells you that 5% of patients do not survive the operation.
How about now?
Standard economics has always assumed that people's preferences are stable. Thus the way in which questions are worded should not have an impact on what we prefer. Psychologists beg to differ.
Now, you're probably telling yourself that you're unaffected by the way the question is 'framed'. However, evidence shows that people are highly susceptible to framing effects.
More worryingly, evidence shows that doctors are equally susceptible to framing when faced with similar problems to the one above!
We are all to some extent irrational when it comes to framing effects. But never fear, there is an easy way to improve your rationality - simply reframe the problem and see if it changes your preference...
If told:
- 30 people die out of every 10,000 that undergo an operation
remind yourself that
- 99.7% survive
Remembering this should help you improve your decision making... Simples!
Recommended listening:
American Idiot by Green Day
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