Framing Effects Under the COVID-19 A Review of Application in Framing Messages and Decision-Making

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to illustrate and summarize the role of framing effect under the COVID-19 pandemic with regards to three applications: vaccine promotion, general restrictive policy proposed by governments, and guidelines for older adults. Current studies for this issue are mostly about the effect of framing messages regarding separate individual aspects, with a focus on comparing the effectiveness of gain and loss-framed health messages. Overall, studies found that loss-framed messages seemed to work better in COVID-19 vaccine promotion and guidelines for older adults. Inconsistent results are presented in people's responds toward government restrictions, but no matter which one works better, framing effects are proved to be crucial and effective in informing people about the risks and importance of self-protection under the COVID-19 epidemic.