'Increase' framing makes research results seem bigger and more important, experiments show
Feb 10, 2026
Scientific findings are in the news. They're cited on food packages and beverage labels. They are discussed in podcasts and argued over by politicians and pundits. And each finding sits within a specific frame. If researchers discover an intervention that affects how people spend discretionary incom
e, for example, they could describe it as a method that increases savings or decreases spending. A medication could be said to increase attention spans or, conversely, decrease attention lapses. ...read more read less