Search for the underlying mechanism of framing effects in multi-alternative and multi-attribute decision situations

This paper extends previous research on the framing effect from single-alternative and single-attribute to multi-alternative and multi-attribute situations. Two experimental studies demonstrate that attribute framing and goal framing influence consumer decision-making in multi-attribute and multi-alternative situations. The results indicate that attribute framing influences only the perceived evaluation of the specific alternatives along a framed attribute, in that the perceived evaluation of the framed attribute is higher in the positive attribute framing condition than in the negative. On the other hand, goal framing influences only the weight of a framed attribute. Specifically, the weight of the framed attribute becomes more important in the positive goal framing condition than in the negative. Further, the results suggest that the attribute framing effects are attributable to the changes in mental representation in the encoding stage of the decision, rather than in the judgment stage.