Imagine comparing two used electric vehicles. One retains 80% of its battery capacity and costs $40,000, while another retains 90% and costs $45,000. Now consider the same information expressed differently: the vehicles have lost 20% and 10% of their battery capacity, respectively.
The numbers are identical, but the way they are presented can change which vehicle consumers prefer.
A study by Associate Professor Baler Bilgin of Koç University’s College of Administrative Sciences and Economics and Kunter Gunasti of Washington State University reveals a previously unidentified framing effect that can influence how consumers evaluate price and product quality.
Published in Marketing Letters, the study introduces the concept of “relationship-sign framing.” It shows that consumers perceive the relationship between two product attributes as stronger when the attributes are described as moving in the same direction.
When an electric vehicle is described in terms of its “remaining” battery capacity, both price and battery capacity increase together: the more expensive vehicle also has more battery capacity. When the same vehicles are described in terms of “degraded” battery capacity, the relationship appears to move in opposite directions: the more expensive vehicle has less battery degradation.
Although the underlying information is mathematically equivalent, consumers tend to perceive the positive relationship as stronger. This makes the higher-priced, higher-quality product appear to offer better value—as though each additional dollar buys a greater improvement in quality.
The researchers demonstrated that this effect is not limited to used electric vehicles. In another product context, consumers evaluated bicycle helmets described either by the percentage of impact they absorbed or by the percentage transmitted to the wearer’s head. Once again, equivalent information produced different preferences depending on whether the relationship between price and performance was framed positively or negatively.
Positive framing increased preference for the higher-quality, higher-priced option. Negative framing, in contrast, weakened the perceived connection between price and quality and made the lower-priced alternative more attractive.
The effect was particularly pronounced when purchases were presented as hedonic—that is, motivated by pleasure or enjoyment—rather than utilitarian. When considering hedonic purchases, consumers were more likely to focus on how much benefit they received for each dollar spent. This way of thinking reinforced the influence of positive relationship framing.
The findings have practical implications for marketing and product positioning. Premium brands may benefit from describing product attributes in positive terms that move in the same direction as price. Lower-priced brands, meanwhile, may benefit from negative framing, which can reduce the perceived advantage of paying more.
The study also highlights how easily consumers’ perceptions of value can be shaped without changing any factual information. Describing a battery as “90% remaining” instead of “10% degraded,” for example, does not alter its actual condition—but it may alter how strongly consumers associate higher prices with better performance.
For consumers, the findings offer a simple strategy for making more considered decisions: translate positive descriptions into their negative equivalents, and vice versa. Examining both formulations can help reveal whether a preference reflects a genuine difference in value or merely the way the information has been framed.