How Children Reason about Gains and Losses: Framing Effects in Judgement and Choice

Abstract

Three experiments considered how the positive or negative framing of decisions affects children’s EV (expected value) judgements and choices. In Experiment 1, 6- and 9-year-olds chose between a sure gain and a gamble or between a sure loss and a gamble, all with the same EV. Children preferred the sure thing more in the positive than negative frame, as also appears for adults. In Experiment 2, both frames involved potential losses. In their judgements, 6- and 9-year-olds used the normative multiplication rule for integrating risk and amount at risk, with minor frame differences, but when choosing between the same options, they were risk-averse in the save, risk-seeking in the loss frame. In Experiment 3, 5-year-olds used multiplication for saves, with an irregular pattern for losses. Overall, children’s judgements conform closely to normativity. At the same time, children’s choices, like adults’, show non-normative framing effects. This décalage may reflect the involvement of more intuitive processes in judgement than choice.