Interpretation versus reference framing: Assimilation and contrast effectsin the organizational domain

We examined conditions under which contextually activated information affec ts strategic decision-making and found that the subjective framing of organ izational issues may be affected by variables other than semantic manipulat ion. Context information may be used as an interpretation frame (and lead t o assimilation) or as a reference frame (and lead to contrast). Whether con text information instigates assimilative interpretation or contrastive comp arison processes may depend on the level of categorical context-target simi larity. This is demonstrated in three experiments in which participants rea d an unambiguous business threat or opportunity scenario prior to judging a n ambiguous, strategic issue. Findings are discussed in the light of previo us judgment and decision-making studies of framing and context effects. (C) 1998 Academic Press.