Which one of the following refers to the ‘framing effect’ in the context of decision making?

The correct answer is A. The framing effect is the tendency for the same underlying choice to produce different decisions depending on how it is worded or presented. Kahneman and Tversky's Asian disease experiment is the classic case: people prefer a programme described as '200 saved' over one described as '400 die' even though the outcomes are identical.

• A is correct, as explained above.
• B describes expected utility maximisation, a normative rule of rational choice. It is not a bias. The option's 'unity' is a typo for 'utility'.
• C is meaningless in this context and does not describe any recognised cognitive bias.
• D describes confirmation bias, the habit of seeking evidence that supports existing beliefs. It is a different bias, not framing.

Conceptually, framing belongs to behavioural economics and the psychology of judgement under risk. For Mains, it helps in ethics questions on nudging and public communication, and in GS-II and GS-III discussions on how governments present policy choices to citizens.

Trap: Candidates often confuse framing with confirmation bias or with expected utility, because all three sound like 'how people decide'. Ask whether the question is about presentation or about the belief-seeking process.