Prize Decoys at Work 2.0: Does Frame Equivalence Replicate Asymmetric Dominance Effects in Risky Choices on Lotteries?

In 1992, Simonson and Tversky introduced the “prize decoy asymmetric dominance effect” by showing that preferences between two non-dominated options winnable in a competition, namely prize A (a $6 cash payoff) and prize B (an attractive pen), can be shifted toward the target prize B by introducing a prize decoy C (a less attractive pen) which is dominated by B, but not by A. In a controlled conceptual replication that keeps the initial experimental frame equivalent to the original study, it is examined whether the decoy effect remains a robust behavioral pattern when it is transferred to the domain of risky choices in terms of binary lotteries. The replication confirms a substantial decoy effect which amounts to 13 % in the aggregate of choices. Moreover, the detected effect works in a bidirectional way. By further discussing the general need for frame equivalence and the importance of parameters of experimental designs of replication studies (e.g., real choices, tradeoff conformance) the present work provides new insights further stimulating the debate on (a) failed attempts to replicate decoy effects in recent studies and (b) the robustness and the drivers (moderators, mediators) of context effects.