A big fish or a small pond? Framing effects in percentages |
A big fish or a small pond? Framing effects in percentages
Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes
Volume 122, Issue 2, November 2013
pages 190–199
DOI: 10.1016/j.obhdp.2013.07.003
Meng Li, Assistant Professor
Department of Health and Behavioral Sciences
University of Colorado Denver
Gretchen B. Chapman, Professor of Psychology
Rutgers University
This paper presents three studies that demonstrate people’s preference for a large percentage of a small subset over a small percentage of a large subset, when the net overall quantity is equated. Because the division of a set into subsets is often arbitrary, this preference represents a framing effect. The framing effect is particularly pronounced for large percentages. We propose that the effect has two causes: A partial neglect of the subset information, and a non-linear shaped function in the way people perceive percentages.
Highlights
- We examined framing effects in percentages.
- We explored the functional form of percentage weighting.
- Big percentage of a small subset looms larger than small percentage of a big subset.
- Such effect occurs are more pronounced for percentages greater than 50%.
- The perception of percentages follows a non-linear function.
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Tags: Gretchen B. Chapman, Gretchen Chapman, Meng Li, Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes