Abstract

This paper considers the influence of information presentation form and frame on decision outcomes. A more thorough understanding of the interactions between presentation effects and decision outcome will enable systems designers to produce more bias free designs and control the biases which may be inherent in any system. An experiment is presented which investigates the effects of framing in both tabular and graphic presentations. The experiment is a rough replication of an earlier study by McNeil, Pauker, Sox, and Tversky (1982) in which data describing historic outcomes of medical treatments were presented in mortality and survival frames. This previous study indicated that strong framing effects influenced the decision makers' choices. The current study presented similar data in a similar scenario, but utilized graphs and tables in place of textual presentations. Initial results indicate that framing effects arc diminished by the presentation of information in tables and graphs. A number of possible explanations, drawing on various theoretical constructs, are presented to explain these results.

Download

Share

COinS