A Study Of Framing Effect On College Students' Risk Decision-making

If a decision-making program has different describing ways but equivalent actual connotation, and decision-makers have significant different risk preferences to the same problem, this kind of phenomenon is called framing effect. Such effect has been studied as an important issue in risk decision-making since from Kahneman and Tversky's study. There are many theories of explaining framing effect, and all kinds of them have their advantages and disadvantages respectively. Framing effect doesn't always occur. The study investigates the factors which affect framing effect and tries to get the mechanism of framing effect.Two experiments are conducted in this study. In the first experiment, we choose freshmen and sophomores with cluster sampling as subjects and adopt study problem as the material based on the classical Asian disease problem to study the framing effect in different Social Boldness levels. In the second experiment, we choose juniors and seniors with cluster sampling as subjects and adopt career and money problems as materials to study whether the role orientation, situation could result in different risk preferences. Both of the two experiments explore the influence of framing effect on gender and major. Combining with the two experiments, the results are as follows:(1) Different Social Boldness levels don't have significant influence on risk decision-making but significant on framing effect. There is significant classical framing effect in low level, significant unidirectional framing effect of risk seeking in high level, but significant framing effect disappears in middle level.(2) The frame doesn't have significant influence on risk decision-making facing study problem and money problem,but significant facing career problem.(3) The significant interactive effect between role orientation and situation has been found. Facing career problem, there is significant classical framing effect in self-risk decision-making and none in other-risk decision-making. Facing money problem, there isn't any significant framing effect no matter self-risk or other-risk decision-making.(4) There is significant classical framing effect in female facing career problem.(5) There is significant classical framing effect in students of liberal arts facing money problem.