 Framing effects in consumer expectations surveysLora Pavlova Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 2025, vol. 231, issue C Abstract: In a randomized survey experiment, I test how variations in question wording and format influence response behavior. Participants from a representative sample in Germany are divided into four groups, each receiving a different version of a question about expected inflation over the next 12 months. I compare two wordings used in leading consumer surveys: (i) the change in prices in general and (ii) the inflation rate. Additionally, I examine responses to a question about probabilistic beliefs regarding future inflation and a simpler one asking for the expected minimum, maximum, and most likely inflation rate. The findings show that response behavior varies significantly with framing. Simpler wording like ‘prices in general’ and less restrictive format produce higher mean expected inflation. While simpler wording leads to higher individual uncertainty, asking for the minimum, maximum, and mode yields lower uncertainty. The results suggest that framing in consumer expectations surveys can shape the elicited data, underscoring the importance of careful question design. Keywords: Probabilistic expectations; Survey design; Household inflation expectations (search for similar items in EconPapers) Downloads: (external link) Related works: Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:jeborg:v:231:y:2025:i:c:s0167268125000198 DOI: 10.1016/j.jebo.2025.106899 Access Statistics for this article Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization is currently edited by Houser, D. and Puzzello, D. More articles in Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization from Elsevier |
Is your work missing from RePEc? Here is how to contribute.
Questions or problems? Check the EconPapers FAQ or send mail to .
EconPapers is hosted by the
School of Business at Örebro University.