Evaluative polarity words in risky choice framing

•The role of negation in the Asian Disease Problem cannot be ignored.•Evaluative polarity (EP) of words explains risky choice framing.•The degree of EP predicts degree of risk seeking.

This article is concerned with how we make decisions based on how problems are presented to us and the effect that the framing of the problem might have on our choices. Current philosophical and psychological accounts of the framing effect in experiments such as the Asian Disease Problem (ADP) concern reference points and domains (gains and losses). We question the importance of reference points and domains. Instead, we adopt a linguistic perspective focussing on the role of the evaluative polarity evoked by the words - negative and positive - used to describe the options in the decision problem. We show that the evaluative polarity of the different wordings in the ADP better explain participants' behaviour than reference points and domains. We propose two models in which the values given to evaluative polarity words (their valence) directly influence the strength of framing. The results indicate that linguistic considerations regarding evaluative polarity have to be considered in relation to the ADP. The account resembles Fuzzy-Trace-Theory but allows for the strength of evaluative polarity to directly affect behaviour. In the discussion, we also assess how evaluative polarity relates to negation, antonyms and the communicative frame within which the choices are presented.