Personal Relevance and Mental Simulation Amplify the Duration Framing Effect

Abstract

Different framing of the same duration (one year, 12 months, 365 days) can influence consumers’ impressions of subjective duration, thereby affecting their judgments and decisions. The authors propose that, ironically, self-relevance amplifies this duration framing effect. Consumers for whom a particular self-improvement domain is personally relevant are less likely to adopt a one-year self-improvement plan as compared with a 12-month plan because they perceive it as longer and more difficult. This bias is more likely to manifest in consumers who report that the task is highly personally relevant to them, who are making predictions for themselves (vs. others), and who have high (vs. low) task involvement. Personal relevance amplifies this effect because it prompts process-focused simulation of the plan, consequently increasing susceptibility to spurious duration and difficulty cues embedded in frames.