Do you favor positive information or dislike negative information? Cultural variations in the derivation of the framing effect

Abstract

Individuals, despite having practically identical choices, often evaluate one option as being more favorable when described in a positive (vs. negative) frame, a phenomenon known as the attribute framing effect. The present study sought to identify whether this effect is derived from a more favorable evaluation of positively framed information or a less favorable evaluation of negatively framed information, by comparing the positive- and negative-framing conditions with a control condition that presents both positive and negative information. As predicted, the results showed a significant cultural variation in the direction from which the framing effect was derived. For North American participants, the attribute framing effect was found to be driven by highly unfavorable evaluations of negatively framed information (e.g., 10 “Not Recommended” reviews). On the other hand, for South Korean participants, this effect was guided by highly favorable evaluations of positively framed information (e.g., 90 “Recommended” reviews). The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are further discussed.