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Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) often lack the knowledge and the resources necessary to implement best ractices in environmental management. This makes them a relevant target for public policy measures trying to enhance sustainable decision making in the economy. This paper reports the results of a field experiment in Switzerland investigating behavioral economic interventions for promoting an environmental consulting program to SMEs. The experiment tested the effectiveness of appealing to the environmental vs. financial benefits of environmental consulting to promote the program to SMEs, and of loss vs. gain framed nudges. The results indicate that loss frames are not more effective than gain frames. Unlike suggested by previous approaches, appealing to the environmental benefits of sustainability measures is just as effective as underlining the financial benefits for the SMEs. Evidence from two surveys with SME decision makers corroborates this latter result: SMEs indicate that personal motivations of owners or managers and long-term environmental impact - rather than potential financial benefits - are the most important factors determining whether they are willing to implement additional environmental sustainability measures.

Under time pressure, it is usually not possible to respond quickly and accurately at the same time. Therefore, people must trade speed for accuracy, depending on the current payoff conditions. Ideally, they should choose a speed-accuracy tradeoff (SAT) that optimizes their monetary reward. However, this is hardly the case. Rather, persons exhibit an accuracy bias, which is often disadvantageous. To further investigate the role of errors for optimizing reward, we conducted a flanker-task study with different payoff and framing conditions. Whereas the reward for correct responses always increased continuously with speed, the costs of errors varied. In three of four conditions, responding very fast, even with low accuracy, was favorable. Furthermore, in addition to the usual gain framing, half of our participants were instructed according to a loss frame. Whereas framing had little effect on performance, we found a substantial accuracy bias. Only in the most extreme condition some participants overcame their bias and responded very quickly. To examine how SAT strategies differed between participants, we modeled the performance with a sequential-sampling model. The results suggest that various mechanisms were involved in realizing specific SATs. However, they were hardly applied to optimize reward. Rather, participants seem to have optimized their well-being. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

The study examines how framing, psychological uncertainty, and agency type influence campaign effectiveness in promoting coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccines. A 2 (gain vs. loss frame) × 2 (high vs. low uncertainty) × 2 (national vs. local agency) between-subjects experiment was conducted among Houston residents ( N = 382). Findings revealed that a loss frame was more effective among participants primed with high uncertainty through a thought-listing task; however, it was less persuasive under conditions of low uncertainty due to increased psychological reactance. Moreover, there was an interaction effect between uncertainty and agency type on vaccine beliefs. The study contributes to the framing literature by identifying psychological uncertainty as a moderator and provides useful suggestions for vaccine message design.

I conduct an experiment with senior executives (CEOs, CFOs, controllers) to examine how their risk disclosure quality, with respect to disclosure volume and specificity, is influenced by three factors: first, whether the disclosure behavior is framed internally by the firm as obtaining a gain or avoiding a loss from disclosure; second, whether the external disclosure regime mandates risk mitigation disclosures that explain how a risk is handled; and third, whether the risk under consideration for disclosure is weakly or strongly mitigated. This research question is important because high-quality risk disclosures are challenging to regulate and changing how disclosure behavior is framed could substitute for costly disclosure regulations. I predict and find that a gain frame prompts managers to make more detailed risk disclosures than a loss frame, regardless of the disclosure regime. I also predict and find that a loss frame leads to less detailed and more boilerplate disclosure of weakly mitigated risks when risk mitigation plans are mandated. Given that the SEC (2016) is considering mandating risk mitigation disclosures similar to the practice in other regimes, my findings provide insights on the limitations of mandating these disclosures. My results suggest that changing managers’ disclosure frame internally through firm initiatives could be more effective in prompting higher quality risk disclosures.

يهدف هذا البحث إلى تحليل و رصد التغطية المصورة للإرهاب وأحداثه بالصحف الإلکترونية المصرية من خلال تحليل مجموعة الصور الرقمية الثابتة التى نشرتها الصحف خلال فترة البحث ، و التعرف على الأطر التي استخدمتها تلک الصحف فى نشر الصور، وأسلوب عرضها و معالجتها لتلک الصور The study aims to analyze and monitor the photo coverage of terrorism and its events in the Egyptian electronic newspapers by analyzing the set of digital fixed photos published by newspapers during the research period, and to identify the visual frames that these newspapers used with photos. The study also analyzes the presentation and treatment of these photos. The study reached a set of results, the most important of which are: There is a disparity between the newspapers with regard to the interest in publishing photos, so, the Seventh Day newspaper was ranked first with 85.6%, followed by Akhbar Al-Youm newspaper with 21.4%, then Al-wafd newspaper in the last place a newspaper with 19.8%. With regard to photos locations accompanying the text, the locations varied with respect to the text in the newspapers. Photos placed below the text were ranked first with 43.3%, followed by pictures on the top of the text by 42.4%, then the photos in the middle of the text were ranked by 14.2%. There are many types of photos in newspapers sample; news photos came first, followed by photos of topics, then humanized photos then personal photos, finally, infograph photos come in a small percentage. The frames included in the photos varied in the electronic newspapers sample, and that a single photo may included more than one frame. We found that the security/legal frame was ranked first, followed by the technical frame, then the support frame in the third rank, followed by the loss frame in the fourth rank, then the frame of human interest, then came in the sixth rank the conspiracy frame, and finally the historical context frame in the seventh rank.

Background Unhealthy diet including consumption of high amounts of sugar-sweetened beverages is a key modifiable risk factor for obesity and NCDs which begin in childhood and adolescence. The study aimed to compare the effect of gain frame vs. loss frame messages on SSBs consumption intention and behavior of high school boy students. Methods In this quasi-experimental study, 270 students from three boy’s high schools were selected through a multistage random sampling. Data collection was done through a 15 items self-reported questionnaire before and two months after the intervention. Each of the two intervention groups received one of the two types of gain frame or loss frame designed pamphlets inspired with extended parallel process model. The control group received no pamphlet. Results In control, GFM and LFM groups 91, 86 and 89 students participated in the study, respectively. After the intervention, significant differences were observed in perceived efficacy and threat of the GFM group and perceived efficacy, threat and intention in the LFM group compared with before the intervention. The GFM group had higher perceived self-efficacy than the control group and lower perceived severity than the LFM group. Intention to consume SSBs reduced significantly in LFM group, compared with the control group. Conclusions A combination of LFM and GFM messages could more effectively lead to nutritional behavior change regarding the consumption of SSBs. Results help to design messages for educational programs and nutritional campaigns.

Adolescents are frequently thought of as having strong desires for independence and defiance of authority. Using psychological reactance theory, this study investigated the effects of gain and loss frame messages advocating sun safety behavior on the perceived threats to freedom of high school-aged adolescents. A loss, rather than a gain, frame message produced greater perceived threats to freedom among adolescents. Perceived threats to freedom were associated with anger, but anger was not associated with attitudes toward behavior. Perceived threats to freedom were not associated with negative cognitions, but more negative cognitions were associated with less positive attitudes toward behavior. Implications of the findings on future research are explored.

The framing effect, which is one of the cognitive biases, can play a major role in changing preferences and the decision-making process. However, whether the gain and loss frames modulate the evaluation of feedback during decision-making is still unclear. In this study, we used event-related potentials (ERPs) with a Balloon Analogue Risk Task (BART) paradigm to examine the effects of a gain and loss frame on the evaluation of feedback during the decision-making process of the brain. Behavioral data showed an increased uncertainty-aversion, especially after receiving negative feedback (balloon explosion) during the completion of the BART in the gain frame relative to the loss frame. The ERP data demonstrated a more negative feedback-related negativity (FRN) after receiving negative feedback in the gain frame relative to the loss frame. Additionally, the FRN amplitude elicited by the negative feedback correlated with the future decision-making behavior in both the gain and loss frames. These findings demonstrated that, in comparison to the loss frame, the gain frame increased behavior and brain sensitivity to the failure of decision-making under uncertainty.

International audience; This paper reports the results of dictator experiments in which the context is varied between a loss and gain frame. In some treatments, individuals have the possibility to sort and self-select the frame they prefer. We demonstrate that higher shares are transferred to the recipient in the loss frame compared to the gain frame when the situation occurs naturally, while the opposite result holds when the participants provoke themselves the situation. Our main result can be attributed primarily to a gender effect, i.e. female participants acting more generously in loss frames.

Public health campaigns utilize messaging to encourage healthy eating. The present experimental study investigated the impact of three components of health messages on preferences for healthy foods. We exposed 1676 online, American study participants to messages that described the gains associated with eating healthy foods or the costs associated with not eating healthy foods. Messages also manipulated the degree to which they included abstract and concrete language and the temporal distance to foreshadowed outcomes. Analysis of variance statistical tests indicated that concrete rather than abstract language increased the frequency of choosing healthy over unhealthy foods when indicating food preferences. However, manipulations of proximity to outcomes and gain rather than loss frame did not affect food preferences. We discuss implications for effective public health campaigns, and economic and social cognitive theories of persuasion, and our data suggest that describing health outcomes in concrete rather than abstract terms may motivate healthier choices.

Framing influences choice. However, little is known about the underlying mechanisms behind framing effects. We study gain-loss framing in binary modified dictator games. Subjects choose the selfish option more often in the loss frame compared to the gain frame. Recording visual fixations with eye-tracking, we find that dictators focus more on their own outcomes when facing losses. This suggests that losses to the own outcome are weighted more than losses to another player.

In two experiments, participants had to choose between a sure and a risky option. The sure option was presented either in a gain or a loss frame. Need was defined as a minimum score the participants had to reach. Moreover, choices were made under two different time constraints and with three different levels of induced need to be reached within a fixed number of trials. The two experiments differed with respect to the specific amounts to win and the need levels. The $$2 \times 2 \times 3$$2×2×3 design was a within-subject design. Data were evaluated on an overall and on a group level, the latter based on participants’ stated risk preference and on revealed preferences (choice proportions) using cluster analysis across subjects. Overall, the results showed riskier behavior when the choice options were presented as losses as compared to gains (framing effect) and when the induced need was highest. Time limits enhanced the framing effect.

In this paper, we examine gender-specific reference-dependent preferences in a trust game experiment. Different amounts of show-up fee and one question eliciting subjects’ reference points were used to categorize subjects into three frames—the gain frame, the gain or loss frame, and the loss frame. We mainly found that (i) male subjects are risk-seeking in both the gain frame and the loss frame; (ii) women are not always more risk-averse than men; and (iii) women display other-regarding preferences only when they are in a gain frame. These results demonstrate the importance of taking gender difference and the reference-dependent preference into account together when examining individuals’ economic behaviors.

The United States is one of the hardest-hit countries by the COVID-19 pandemic and yet there is widespread hesitancy to take the vaccine. In order to address vaccine hesitancy and foster public understanding of the COVID-19 vaccine, it is necessary to strategize public health messages based on evidence. To this end, we use experimental data to examine the effects of four message frames on participants' attitudes toward the COVID-19 vaccine and their vaccine intention. The primary purposes of this paper are to examine the 1) impact of loss vs. gain frames and individual vs. collective frames and 2) role of perceived benefits on participants' attitudes toward the COVID-19 vaccine and their vaccine intention. Our findings show that participants with higher perceived benefits and exposed to the loss frame showed higher positive attitudes toward the COVID-19 vaccine and greater intention to vaccinate. Similar patterns were revealed in case of the individual frame message. Implications are discussed.

Vaping is the most prevalent form of tobacco use among youth in the United States. Motivated by the certainty effect in prospect theory, this study investigated the role of uncertainty tolerance as a potential moderator of the effects of gain- vs. loss-framed text messages for youth vaping prevention. Youth susceptible to future vaping (N = 536) were randomized to view a series of eight gain- or loss-framed text messages about the health consequences of vaping. Cognitive and affective responses to the messages as well as beliefs, attitude, and intentions about vaping were assessed post-exposure. Results showed an overall advantage of the loss frame on several outcomes. Additionally, an interaction between framing and uncertainty tolerance was observed for most outcomes such that the loss frame was more effective for those high in uncertainty tolerance, while the gain frame held a slight edge for those low in uncertainty tolerance. Findings from this study have implications for further engaging prospect theory in message framing research. They may also inform audience segmentation and targeted message design for youth vaping prevention efforts.

Previous behavioral and neural studies have shown the effects of malicious envy on schadenfreude. However, it is unclear whether these effects are modulated by contextual frames (e.g., gain and loss frames). Thus, the present study aimed to investigate whether behavioral and event-related potential (ERP) effects of malicious envy on schadenfreude were different in gain and loss frames. To address this issue, the participants in the present study believed they were playing a monetary game with several other players. In the malicious envy condition, the participants won less money than the player in the gain frame and lost more money in the loss frame; in the control condition, both participants and the player gained little money in the gain frame and lost much in the loss frame. Subsequently, the participants were informed that the player encountered a misfortune, i.e., gained little in the gain frame and lost much in the loss frame. Results showed that malicious envy increased feelings of schadenfreude and ERP responses when the player encountered a misfortune. Moreover, increased ERP responses by malicious envy occurred at the feedback-related negativity (FRN), and early late positive potential (LPP) time ranges in the gain frame but at the late LPP time range in the loss frame. The findings might suggest that malicious envy affects schadenfreude and corresponding neural activity, whereas the neural effects occur at comparatively early time ranges in the gain frame but at a later time range in the loss frame.

Episodic memory relies on discriminating among similar elements of episodes. Mnemonic discrimination is relatively poor at age 4, and then improves markedly. We investigated whether motivation to encode items with fine-grain resolution would change this picture of development, using an engaging computer-administered memory task in which a bird ate items that made her healthier (gain frame), sicker (loss frame), or led to no change (control condition). Using gain-loss framing led to enhanced mnemonic discrimination in 4- and 5-year-olds, but did not affect older children or adults. Despite this differential improvement, age-related differences persisted. An additional finding was that loss-framing led to greater mnemonic discrimination than gain-framing across age groups. Motivation only partially accounts for the improvement in mnemonic discrimination.

Extensive research has confirmed that negative emotions play a key role in the framing effect. Yet little is known about whether and how malicious envy modulates the framing effect. To examine the potential impact and mechanism of malicious envy on the framing effect, two experiments were conducted in which participants were randomly assigned to one of two conditions: a malicious envy condition and a control condition. In Experiment 1, after malicious envy was activated and measured, the participants were asked to complete a framing task. The results showed that participants in the malicious envy group made more risk-averse choices in the gain frame than those in the control group, but these two groups of participants did not exhibit a behavioral difference in the loss frame. In Experiment 2, the procedure was identical to Experiment 1, except that, after the malicious envy scale was administered, two scales were used to measure hope for success and fear of failure. Experiment 2 revealed the same effect of malicious envy on decision making in the framing task. Experiment 2 also found that malicious envy activated two types of achievement motivation. Further, fear of failure mediated the effect of malicious envy on risky decision making in the framing task, while hope for success did not mediate the effect. The relationships between malicious envy, framing effect, and achievement motivation have important implications with respect to interventions for malicious envy.

The current study examined the impact of health versus economic content, as well as gain versus loss frame, in smoking cessation intervention messages on intention, motivation, and planning to quit smoking. Gender, race, Socioeconomic Status (SES), nicotine dependence, and smoker identity variables were investigated as moderators of the relationship between message content and outcomes. Self-identified smokers were randomly assigned to read a gain or loss framed message with economic or health content. Intention, motivation, and planning to quit smoking were measured before and after message exposure. Results showed average gains in intention, motivation, and planning to quit smoking, regardless of message received. However, change in motivation and intention was greater for participants exposed to the economic message. There were no effects of message frame. Years of smoking and race moderated the effects of message content on intention and motivation. Implications for developing tailored messages for smoking cessation in young adults are discussed.

We analyze the influence of frustration and anger on committing a norm violation in a laboratory experiment. Subjects complete a real-effort task where compensation is framed as a gain or a loss and subsequently report experienced levels of different emotions. Finally, subjects may increase their own income by taking away money designated for donation to charity. While both males and females experience higher levels of negative emotions in the loss frame than in the gain frame, we find that only men are more likely to take away money in the loss scenario.

Urban traffic management aims to influence navigational decisions of drivers to avoid congestion and provides travel information. To this effect, even small-scale differences between route options can be presented as gains or losses (valence framing), e.g. ‘Route A is 1 min faster than Route B.’ vs. ‘Route B is 1 min slower than Route A.’ or ‘Route A has 1 min waiting time at traffic lights.’ vs. ‘Route B has no waiting time.’ To analyze if valence framing has an impact on route choices, a short online survey was conducted. Four route choice scenarios were presented, consisting of a 500 m main route with red traffic light and an alternative without traffic lights but varying travel time and distance. A total 458 drivers participated and were randomly assigned to one of the five experimental groups: control, gain or loss frame of travel time, gain or loss frame of waiting at a red traffic light. Results showed for the framing of travel time that gain framed routes were often approached more than loss framed routes were avoided. The framing of the waiting time had no effect. Traffic planners and policy-makers as well as navigation system manufacturers could make use of the findings but more research is needed on the design of travel information.

Evidence suggests that contractual conflicts, defined for the purpose of the present article simply as a decrease in the level of cooperativeness of the parties, are more prone to occur when one or both parties to a contract have suffered a significant loss. While this tendency can be explained in various ways within conventional contract theory (without behavioral assumptions), it is argued that behavioral theories involving motivated reasoning and reciprocity deepen our understanding of it. In short, social psychological experiments suggest that losses are likely to trigger motivated, self‐serving perceptions and beliefs, which in turn are likely to induce both negative reciprocity and counter‐productive acts aimed at bolstering self-image. To strengthen this claim that motivated reasoning and reciprocity are important for understanding contractual conflict as arising in the wake of a loss, the article also summarizes some of the experimental evidence that points to the existence of motivated reasoning and to its role in explaining conflict.

Many companies are struggling to address overconsumption and packaging, some are dissuaded by behavioral trends. However, Prospect Theory positions that individuals tend to act and/or form different attitudes based on the gain or loss frame. Literature also suggests that references and green consumer values interact with the frame, producing different results. Thus, this paper addresses the use of Prospect Theory and reference points in creating message stimuli for apparel brands’ sustainable packaging initiatives. The study uses a 2 (frame: gain/loss) x 2 (reference: personal/societal) x 2 (green consumer value: high/low) mixed method online experiment in which consumers were shown one of four message combinations for a sustainable packaging initiative. While the message did not have a significant effect on attitude towards the packaging initiative, three-way ANOVA results indicated reference and green consumer values act as moderators between frame and attitude towards the packaging initiative, which in turn impact brand attitude.

Behavioural scientists in the field of climate change communication call for a better understanding of how information provided to the public should be presented in order to be effective. The aim of this research is to connect insights from framing theory with message processing theory and regulatory focus theory to see whether public communication can effectively affect pro-environmental behavioural change. The framing types that are of interest in the current study are outcome framing and point-of-reference framing. An online, scenario-based experiment was conducted with 170 Dutch homeowners using a 2 × 2 between-group design. The stimulus material consisted of a communal newsletter advocating pro-environmental behaviours (both short-term and long-term investments in insulation and investment in an alternative heating system) in which both the outcome (gain vs. loss) and the point of reference (self vs. environment) were manipulated. The results indicate that the effect of outcome framing on pro-environmental behavioural intentions depends on the point of reference employed in a message as well as on a recipient’s regulatory focus. Homeowners’ pro-environmental intentions are stronger when the message is presented in a loss frame with a reference to the self than when the message is presented in a loss frame with a reference to the environment. Furthermore, pro-environmental intentions are stronger when the message is presented to homeowners in a gain frame with a promotion focus compared to a prevention focus. No direct effects were found for either outcome framing or point-of-reference framing.

Our attitude toward risk plays a crucial role in influencing our everyday decision-making. Studies have found that human risk-preference are susceptible to the frame in which options are presented (“framing effect”) and can be altered by observing and learning from others’ risk-related decisions (“risk contagion effect”). In this study, we seek to found out the effect of contagion in risk preference under the context of loss, using choice data and computational modeling.We demonstrated that individual’s risk-preference can be readily shifted after observing other’s choices, and this contagion effect are considerably stronger after observing a risk-averse agent than a risk-seeking one under the Loss frame. We also found the distance in risk preference between observer and observee positively influenced the degree of risk contagion. Taken together, these findings provide a mechanistic account for how observing others’ risky choices can modulate an individual’s own risk-preference.

The aim of the research was to explore the relationship between people’s Time Perspectives (TPs) (chronic and induced) and their propensity to take financial risks in gambling tasks with a gain and loss decision frame. The results of the study 1 (N1 = 1093) revealed that a higher chronic Present Hedonistic TP is related to a preference for unsure options in loss and gain frames, while a higher chronic Past Negative TP is related to a preference for sure options in a gain frame of financial choice, but for unsure options in a loss frame. Moreover, higher chronic Future TP is related to unsure option preference in a loss decision frame. The results of the study 2 (N2 = 563) showed that the induced Past Negative TP (in a gain frame) and Present Hedonistic TP (in both decision frames) lead to similar patterns of results to those observed for the chronic TPs.

The framing effect is a heuristic bias, where the way a question is presented affects people’s response to it. This study (n = 924) investigated the influence of the behavioral immune system on the framing effect. We tested the changes in people’s responses towards two frames (i.e., losses and gains) when presented with a threat of disease and as a function of their perceived vulnerability to disease (PVD) level. After being randomly assigned to one of three priming conditions—disease threat, negative threat, and no-threat—participants were presented with one of the two-frame versions (gain or loss) of the damaged painting problem where they chose between a safe and a risky option. Finally, participants responded to the PVD scale and to demographic questions. Results revealed that when people were primed with disease threat, those with lower PVD had a higher likelihood to take risks in the gain frame and a lower likelihood in the loss frame. This effect was not observed when participants were primed with negative threat or no-threat, nor for those participants with high levels of PVD. This finding suggests a specific effect of disease threat on the framing effect.

This article explores the relation between individual well‐being, risky decision‐making, susceptibility to cognitive biases and investor beliefs about investing. A survey of one hundred and two individuals revealed that those with higher satisfaction with life are more prone to taking risks. In a loss frame, participants who were most likely to take a gamble had higher levels of psychological, social and overall well‐being. Lower levels of satisfaction with life were found to impact the susceptibility of the reflection effect cognitive bias. In addition to this, well‐being was found to be associated with investment beliefs, particularly those concerning diversification, the need to be alert and active, and the risk/return trade‐off.

How messages are framed (gain or loss frame) modulate the effect of health information on physical activity level in adults. The role of framing of health information messages to parents about their child's physical activity is unknown. Adult participants (parents) were randomized to see a video that either emphasized the benefits of physical activity (gain frame) or the risks of physical inactivity (loss frame) in children. The primary outcome was the change in the reported level of physical activity for their children between baseline and two-week follow-up. 92 individuals participated in the study and we obtained follow-up data for 48 participants (20 gain frame and 28 loss frame). Using a generalized linear model, we found that the frame presented to parents significantly influenced the trajectory of their child’s physical activity (p = 0.03), with the loss frame condition resulting in more favorable trajectory. Both the willingness to pay for organized physical activities and the perceived barriers to physical activity were similar between the two intervention groups. The change in the reported level of activity of the child over a two-week period was significantly different whether parents were exposed to a loss frame or a gain frame video message.

Rational models have difficulty explaining low levels of demand for long-term care insurance. We posit that insurers have framed the need for insurance in a manner that unintentionally promotes risk-seeking behavior (i.e., high probability loss frame), and that alternative frames can better promote willingness to insure. We further posit that emotional frames are more effective than rational risk frames in promoting willingness to pay. Survey evidence supports these hypotheses: emotional narrative frames are associated with greatest willingness to pay, and the high probability loss frame was associated with among the lowest average amounts willing to pay.