No. 89 · People · General Thinking
Framing
The same facts can lead to opposite choices, depending on how they are presented.
In the Almanac
“Torches of freedom”, 1929 · “Liquid Death”, 2019
Both stories in full, three ways to use it and where it misleads.
Get the AlmanacQuestions
What is Framing?
Framing is the way a choice or fact is presented, the words used and what gets emphasised, and it changes how we feel and decide. Ninety percent survival sounds better than ten percent mortality, though they mean the same thing.
How do you use Framing?
Protect yourself by restating offers in the opposite direction before you commit. Communicate better by framing requests around others' goals. And always ask whether a frame informs or manipulates.
When does Framing matter?
Framing is one of the 60 mental models for people, the situations where you ask: Why do people act as they do, and how do I work with them? Within that, it belongs to “Persuading and influencing”, alongside Anchoring, Backfire Effect and Bait and Switch.
What is an example of Framing?
Two stories show it at work: Torches of freedom (1929) and Liquid Death (2019). Both are told in full in The Mental Models Daily Almanac, which has two stories for each of its 365 models.
Which mental models are related to Framing?
Reframe the Problem, Prospect Theory and Anchoring. Framing itself comes from general thinking.