Framing - how words can change $ perceptions

Ever wondered why it is called tax returns and not tax declaration? A simple choice of a positive word 'return' can frame the perspective better. A tax return reminds us of a favourable outcome we can expect provided we file one (so serves a dual purpose of reminder too). It's also the anticipation of money refunded which provides the motivation to complete the activity. If we look at it very objectively, the fact that we overpaid taxes is a lost income opportunity (if that same amount was invested elsewhere). But the frame is set up so well that we don't realise / overlook this aspect.

Similarly use of negative words frames a non favourable impression - something the credit card companies have been trying to lobby for a while without success. So is credit card fee a surcharge or is paying by cash a discount ? The fact that it's called a surcharge implies the base value is lower and we are being charged additionally for the card processing. If however payment by cash is called a discount then the base value changes. The surcharge frame is penalty based and hurts the image of credit cards.

Also this difference of projections between fine and fee is what changes our perceptions drastically. A fine is a penalty for what is considered to be wrong (socially in most cases ) and comes with a guilt associated to it. A fee on the other hand is a monetary charge for getting away with something or getting access to additional benefits that is not the norm. So a $ 100 fine for speeding indicates that speeding wasn't the right act and hence has been penalised. But if that is converted to a $ 100 fee for speeding, it changes the context althogether. Now, people would be more open to speeding and would do it more often as they just consider it as a monetary transaction. Such frames do hold a delicate balance between social and monetary norms.

"What counts isn't the frame, it's what you put in it."  - Otto Preminger