How Framing Effect Can Cause Biased Judgments of Preference - Essay Example

Prospect theory sees the framing effect as the value function of goods seen as losses or gains based on a reference point. This paper seeks to discuss how framing effects can cause bias in judgments of preference using various illustrations from real-life examples.

When making decisions, the framing effect tends to cause bias in the choices one makes. One tends to avoid risks when a decision presents gains while he or she increases risks when the decision is framed as a loss. In real life situation, a patient is faced with decision-making on whether to undergo a colonoscopy or not. This is a medical procedure where a fiber optic camera is used to view the colon for any abnormalities like ulcers or polyps. This medical procedure is used for visual diagnosis and allows for subsequent operations that are aimed at removing such abnormalities as polyps and taking biopsies. It has various side effects, among them minor discomforts and pain, bleeding, and perforation of the intestines that can lead to many bacterial infections, and also the possibility of developing cancer of the colon.

When one emphasizes the cancer effect of colonoscopy over the other side effects, then a loss frame occurs. Gain frame, on the other hand, is based on rewards or positive effects of an action, for instance, when the patient chooses to go ahead with colonoscopy so that he or she can detect and treat any possible illnesses of the intestine early. The effects of this choice far outride the negative side effects of the procedure. Another example may be choosing to exercise with the expectation of being fit and losing weight. Framing effect causes bias here either way because the choice made by the patient will depend on the evaluation of the positive or negative side effects of the medical procedure. In short, when the benefits are more than the disadvantages, then the majority of people tend to take the risk. On the other hand, when the disadvantages are greater than the benefits, then they reject the idea.

In this situation, the gain frame is a more logical choice. This is because colonoscopy allows one to detect many problems of the intestine which can then be treated to prevent further risks. Among these problems that can be detected include colon cancer, ulcerations, and polyps. Early diagnosis of these defects allows for an appropriate treatment regime that gets rid of the problem. In addition to this, the negative side effects of the procedure are short-term and regress, even disappear, with time. This choice also follows an ethical aspect as it is meant to save more lives in the long run. Diagnosis of intestinal infections aimed at correcting them is a directive towards saving lives. While it may appear logical, failing to perform the procedure based on its negative side effects is not ethical as undiagnosed defects may eventually cause the death of many people, which is unethical.

Apart from the framing effect, many other factors can cause biased judgment or preference. These factors include impact bias, mental accounting, focusing illusion, immune neglect, durability bias, and joint versus separate evaluation.

The framing effect seems to be the greatest source of choice bias in this case as described earlier. To illustrate this, I will explain these factors and show that the framing effect is the most relevant. Immune neglect occurs when one overlooks important facts about the process of coping. This leads to the prediction of distress that occurs when faced with negative occurrences. Focusing illusion refers to the error in judgment that occurs when one focuses too much on only one aspect of occurrence. This cannot apply as the example above looks at both sides of the event. Impact bias, on the other hand, tends to concentrate on how people overlook the length and intensity of states of feelings in the future. Mental accounting, on the other hand, proposes that people divide their assets into separate and nontransferable parts; thus their consumption decisions are affected. Read More