The Science of Influence: How to Get Anyone to Say "Yes" in 8 Minutes or Less!, Second Edition

Chapter 7. Framing Principles, Persuasion Techniques, and Influential Strategies

More about Framing

No often means "no," but it doesn't have to! Allow me to keep you in suspense for just a few moments and let you indulge yourself with another game you can play and compare your results to the majority of the population:

Situation A: In a game, you receive $1,000. In addition, you have a choice between a certain gain of $500 or a 50 percent chance of winning an additional $1,000 and a 50 percent chance of winning nothing. Which do you choose?

Situation B: In a game you receive $2,000. In addition, you have a choice between a certain loss of $500 or a 50 percent risk of losing $1,000 and a 50 percent chance of losing nothing. Which do you choose?

Before you read on, please do make your choice.

These are the situations that Kahneman, Slovic, and Tversky (1982) presented to hundreds of subjects. Situations A and B are 100 percent identical, but most people choose differently in each situation because of the framing. In both situations you are deciding whether you want $1,500 guaranteed or have a 50–50 chance of ending up with either $1,000 or $2,000.

How do most people respond?

In situation A, 84 percent of people choose the certain $1,500 (the first option). Only 16 percent gamble on the 50–50 chance of ending up with either $1,000 or $2,000.

In situation B, 31 percent of people choose the certain $1,500 (the first option). A full 69 percent are willing to gamble on the 50–50 chance of ending ...