On the Risky Choice Framing Effect and the Role of Hedonic Versus Utilitarian Mindsets Seminar

Four experiments investigated the impact of hedonic versus utilitarian mindsets on framing effects. Based on the assumption that hedonic mindsets sensitize people more to decision frames than utilitarian mindsets, it was predicted that framing effects would be more pronounced when participants adopted a hedonic mindset than when they adopted a utilitarian mindset.

Consistently, mindsets moderated the impact of decision frames. When participants adopted a hedonic mindset, they preferred the secure over the risky alternative when the scenario was framed in terms of gains, but they preferred the risky over the secure alternative when the scenario was framed in terms of losses. When participants adopted a utilitarian mindset, the framing effect was reduced. Analyses of participants' thoughts confirmed the mediating role of these mindsets. These findings shed light on underlying processes of framing effects and on rationality in decision making as a function of hedonic versus utilitarian mindsets.