75% choose the option framed in terms of saving lives Nobel Prize-winning Behavioural Economist, Richard Thaler, first presented the notion of ‘choice architecture’. Thaler wrote extensively about how to design a choice in such a way as to ensure the choice made is the right one. Architectural tools identified by Thaler include framing, limiting, defaults, and […]

75% choose the option framed in terms of saving lives Nobel Prize-winning Behavioural Economist, Richard Thaler, first presented the notion of ‘choice architecture’. Thaler wrote extensively about how to design a choice in such a way as to ensure the choice made is the right one. Architectural tools identified by Thaler include framing, limiting, defaults, and decoys. Our choices are influenced by how they are ‘framed’. Consider the following:  ‘95% effective’ condom vs just ‘5% failure’ condom ‘80% lean’ ground beef vs just ‘20% fat’ ground beef ‘just 25% imported’ components vs ‘75% Australian’ Which of these choices would you be most likely to opt for? In each of these options, the offering is the same, but the framing is very different. That difference can have a significant impact on purchase behaviour. Researchers, Tversky and Thaler, considered two treatments of 600 people who contracted a fatal disease:  Treatment A – would result in…