This paper shows that societal decision makers may take different decisions than individual decision makers, not because they are different people or possess different knowledge. but just because their adopted roles lead them to frame the decision problem in a different ways. The decision problem studied in this investigation was related to the use of seat belts. Two groups, both drawn from the same student population, were told that they were to adopt the role of a parent deciding about the installation of seat belts, or of a government minister deciding whether to impose wearing seat belts. Due to the induced difference in frames, the two groups differed in their preference for type of information. The parents accepted anecdotal information almost as much as statistical information; ministers rejected anecdotal information and had a strong preference for statistical information. (A)
Samenvatting