The first step in making a decision is one of the most risky. Why? Because choices are not always about reality. Rather, they are about what you believe. As rational “choosers,” most all of us believe that we always strive to make the most rational choices possible. The problem is we don’t.
You’ve been framed.
Cognitive psychologists Amos Tversky and Daniel Kahneman (1981), who discovered and extensively studied the framing bias, suggest that the way a decision is presented or “framed” clouds our mind, traps our thinking, and affects the choice we make. In practice, we frame an issue by blanking out all parts of the universe that are outside the frame. But these blinders can lead us to make choices that are based on incomplete information, reasoning errors, logical fallacies, confusions, or false knowledge.
Lipstick and hemorrhoids.
Outside parties attempt to shape the way you view reality by influencing or controlling the informational content that you receive. Framing an issue reflects judgments made by message creators or “framers”—they decide what to include, what to leave out, and what to emphasize. And your inattention to how an issue is framed can deliberately narrow your thinking, which is exactly what they are counting on (framing trap*). Here are a few (of many) framers and the messages they frame for you:
- Salespersons sell sizzle
- Lawyers manipulate juries
- Companies mold public image
- Lobbyists shape political issues
- Surveys (un)wittingly sway results
- Parents and teachers shape attitudes
- Activists create social movement agendas.
Framing is an unavoidable part of human communication and understanding how information is biased by it is a valuable skill. A primo example of framing comes from producers of consumer products. Advertisers use framing to separate you from your dollar and they possess an arsenal of incredibly effective psychological and manipulative techniques that are very difficult to resist. To them, you are nothing more than a digital Pringle to be chopped, formed, shaped, and sold.
Why is framing important to young persons? Tune in to the TV or Internet for 10 minutes. What do you see? Happy people having fun, buff models, and satisfied customers being satiated. Kinda makes you wanna whip out the old Visa card, doesn’t it? “What’s in your wallet?” is the phrase that pays—them—and your ignorance is their bonanza. Estimates of the number of advertising messages that you are exposed to daily range from 250 to 3,000 and each is hell-bent on getting what’s in your pocketbook into theirs (see: It’s our choices, Harry).
Baaaa—stand by to get fleeced!
Ultimately, you are being fed a seemingly endless diet of half-truths and lies designed to persuade you to change, whether it is to buy their product, vote for their candidate, or support their cause. As a result, “there is an interest in authenticity or realness,” reports futurist Richard Watson. “People want to know where things (or people) are from and whether they can trust them.” Here are a few tips that will help keep your wool intact:
- Question givens. Resist the tendency to blindly accept information without questioning the judgments and motives of the message framers. Ask them to provide a rationale for their choice. Focus on the essence of the data provided rather than how it is presented.
- Cast your net wide. Choose a frame that captures everything that is important in the decision. For example, ask “What is the total cost of ownership?” not “What is the price?” Or, ask “What qualities does he have that will bring me happiness?” rather than “Is he a hunk?”
- Be honest with yourself. Ask “What if?” type questions and acknowledge if you don’t know the answers. Checking with a tribal elder increases the likelihood that important uncertainties are identified and dealt with. Before making a final decision, provide a rationale for your choice.
Everybody’s got something to hide except for me and my monkey.
~ John Lennon
* Questionable beliefs can “trap” our better judgment, leading to poor decisions and unintended consequences. In the framing trap, we often underappreciate how significantly others shape our opinions and desires. Learn more about this, and other traps, in the Young Person’s Guide to Wisdom, Power, and Life Success.
Image credit: “Ram or Aries woman” by anyka, licensed from 123rf.com (2015).
