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What is a framing effect? The idea that our decisions are impacted by the way that choices are presented. In other words, people can be enticed to make answers that contradict each other if questions present the same issue in different ways.
Here's a definition from the 538 glossary in the NYT:
How a survey question is structured can change the way individuals respond. In a well-known example from the General Social Survey, researchers found that people responded much more positively when asked about assistance to the poor than when asked about welfare, even though the questions are logically equivalent. These framing effects often work by drawing particular ideas or emotions to the fore, or by presenting a short vignette before asking respondents for their opinion.
Regarding RFRA, people tend to favor both religious freedom and the ability of individuals to be treated equally. People seem to support whichever position is emphasized in the question asked by the pollster:
- According to a March edition of the Marist poll, 54 percent of Americans agreed with "allowing First Amendment religious liberty protection or exemptions for faith based organizations and individuals even when it conflicts with government laws."
- Consider a June 2014 Public Religion Research Institute poll that asked, "Do you think that a small-business owner in your state should be allowed to refuse to provide products or services to individuals because they are gay or lesbian if it violates their religious beliefs?" Eighty percent of respondents said no.
- . . . a September 2014 Pew poll showed a much closer split. That poll asked, "If a business provides wedding services, such as catering or flowers, should it be allowed to refuse those services to same-sex couples for religious reasons, or required to provide those services as it would to all other customers." Forty-seven percent said they should be allowed to refuse, and 49 percent said they should not be allowed to refuse.
