“More” Is More Interesting When Framing Headlines: The Influence of Comparative Language Framing and Consistency With Prior Beliefs on Engagement With Health‐Related News

Signe  Oehlenschläger Turner; Lottie Buttle; Sander van der Linden; William Skylark; Mirjana  Bozic

doi:10.1002/acp.70118

“More” Is More Interesting When Framing Headlines: The Influence of Comparative Language Framing and Consistency With Prior Beliefs on Engagement With Health‐Related News

Signe Oehlenschläger Turner
, Lottie Buttle
, Sander van der Linden
, William Skylark
, Mirjana Bozic

Department of Psychology

University of Cambridge

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

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Abstract

Whether people evaluate a claim as true or false can depend on comparative framing effects. This study examined the influence of comparative language framing (more than vs. less than) and consistency with prior beliefs on engagement with health-related news. Participants (N = 730) first reported their prior beliefs regarding two health-related statements. They then saw two logically equivalent headlines framed as “more than” or “less than” and chose which of them they would they want to read. Results revealed that on average participants wanted to engage more with headlines framed as “more” and were also more likely to engage with headlines that corresponded to their prior beliefs, as predicted by confirmation bias. Our results extend the existing literature to show that comparative language framing can influence behavioral choices. The health news context of the study allows for potentially direct application to real-world scenarios such as the wording in public health campaigns.

Original language	English
Article number	e70118
Journal	Applied Cognitive Psychology
Volume	39
Issue number	5
Early online date	15 Oct 2025
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1002/acp.70118
Publication status	Published - 31 Oct 2025

Data Availability Statement

All data and code behind these analyses have been made publicly available at https://osf.io/jtxuq/?view_only=0cc8a3d0ce034be2ac71b56fefb49e8d. The study has been preregistered at AsPredicted (https://aspredicted.org/Y8H_YSH).

Acknowledgements

We would also like to thank our participants for making this research possible. This research was supported by the Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge.

Funding

Funding: This research was supported by the Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge. We would also like to thank our participants for making this research possible. This research was supported by the Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge.

Funders
University of Cambridge

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

SDG 3 Good Health and Well-being

Keywords

comparative framing
confirmation bias
health news
prior beliefs

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Experimental and Cognitive Psychology
Developmental and Educational Psychology
Arts and Humanities (miscellaneous)

Access to Document

10.1002/acp.70118Licence: CC BY

Applied Cognitive Psychology - 2025 - Turner - More Is More Interesting When Framing Headlines The Influence ofFinal published version, 638 KBLicence: CC BY

Cite this

“More” Is More Interesting When Framing Headlines: The Influence of Comparative Language Framing and Consistency With Prior Beliefs on Engagement With Health‐Related News. / Oehlenschläger Turner, Signe ; Buttle, Lottie; van der Linden, Sander et al.
In: Applied Cognitive Psychology, Vol. 39, No. 5, e70118, 31.10.2025.

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

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“More” Is More Interesting When Framing Headlines: The Influence of Comparative Language Framing and Consistency With Prior Beliefs on Engagement With Health‐Related News

Abstract

Data Availability Statement

Acknowledgements

Funding

UN SDGs

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Access to Document

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