Universal Principles of Design, Revised and Updated

Framing

A technique that influences decision making and judgment by manipulating the way information is presented.

Framing is the use of images, words, and context to manipulate how people think about something. Information can be presented in such a way as to emphasize the positive (e.g., glass is half-full) or the negative (e.g., glass is half-empty). The type of frame used to present information dramatically affects how people make decisions and judgments, and is consequently a powerful influencer of behavior. News media, politicians, propagandists, and advertisers all commonly use framing (knowingly or unknowingly) with great effect.1

In October 2002, Russian Special Forces used a sedating gas to knock out Chechen rebels who were holding ...