Presentation Sensitivity Table¶
Synthesis record — instantiates Framing Effect Audit
A single ledger that records every frame variable tested, the shift each one produced, the materiality threshold applied, and the resulting disclosure or redesign decision.
Presentation Sensitivity Table is the audit's ledger: one structured record that lays every tested frame variable in a row against the shift it produced, the threshold it was judged by, the downstream decision it feeds, and the disposition chosen (keep, redesign, disclose, present multiple, reject). Its defining move is that it synthesizes and commits the audit rather than performing any single test — it is the artifact that turns a scattered set of probes into a traceable, reviewable decision trail. It does not generate the alternate frames or run the comparisons; it collects what those mechanisms found and forces each finding to an explicit disposition tied to how the result will be used.
Example¶
A bank is preparing a credit-card summary box and has run a small framing audit on it. The Presentation Sensitivity Table gathers the results into rows. Row 1: fee shown monthly ("$8/month") versus annually ("$96/year") — tested shift in perceived affordability moderate — threshold for a consumer-finance disclosure strict — downstream use: the applicant's decision to accept — disposition: show the annual figure and disclose the monthly. Row 2: APR versus daily periodic rate — shift small — below threshold — disposition: keep APR. Row 3: autopay presented as default-on versus default-off — shift large on enrollment — downstream use: recurring-payment consent — disposition: redesign to an active choice. Each row names the variable, the observed effect, the bar it was measured against, the decision it drives, and what the bank will do. The completed table is what the compliance reviewer and the regulator see: not "we checked framing," but a line-by-line account of what was tested and why each disposition was chosen.
How it works¶
- Log the tested variables. Enter each frame variable the audit examined as a row, so the inventory of what was and was not tested is explicit.
- Record shift against threshold. For each, note the observed shift and the materiality bar it was judged by, making the keep/act boundary visible.
- Tie each row to its downstream use. Name the decision the framed result feeds, so materiality is anchored to a real use rather than judged in the abstract.
- Commit a disposition. Force every row to an explicit outcome — keep, redesign, disclose, pluralize, or reject — so no material effect passes downstream undocumented.
The distinguishing discipline is that it records and disposes — a passive, auditable synthesis — rather than constructing frames or measuring effects itself.
Tuning parameters¶
- Row granularity — one row per variable or per variable-by-segment cell. Finer granularity captures interactions but grows the table.
- Threshold column strictness — whether the bar is fixed for the whole table or varies by row stakes.[n1] Per-row bars are more faithful but harder to defend as consistent.
- Disposition vocabulary — how many outcomes the table allows (keep / disclose / redesign / pluralize / reject). A richer vocabulary fits reality but complicates the review.
- Provenance depth — how much of each finding's source (which mechanism, which sample) the row carries. Deeper provenance is more auditable but heavier to maintain.
When it helps, and when it misleads¶
Its strength is traceability: it makes the whole audit reviewable at a glance, exposes which variables were not tested by their absence, and prevents a detected-but-material effect from slipping downstream without a recorded decision — the audit's third classic failure mode.
It can mislead by lending false completeness: a tidy table can imply the frame space was covered when only the convenient variables were entered, and a filled disposition column can read as rigor even if the thresholds behind it were loose. The discipline that keeps it honest is to record the frames not tested as explicitly as those tested, and to treat the table as a record of decisions to be defended, not a certificate that framing was handled.
How it implements the components¶
Presentation Sensitivity Table realizes the synthesis-and-commitment side of the archetype:
framing_variable_inventory— each row is a tested frame variable, so the table is the inventory of what the audit examined (and, by omission, what it did not).frame_effect_threshold— a column records the materiality bar each shift was judged against, making the keep/act boundary explicit.frame_disclosure_or_selection_rule— the disposition column commits every row to keep, redesign, disclose, pluralize, or reject.downstream_use_context— each row names the decision the framed result feeds, anchoring materiality to a real use.
It does not run a masked comparison (response_comparison_design), issue an accountable frame_neutrality_claim, or construct the alternate frames (alternate_presentation_set) — the blinded review and neutrality claim are Blinded Frame Review; building the alternates belongs to the probe mechanisms. The separation is that the sensitivity table is the *ledger of what was found and what it drives, while a blinded review governs how the frame is chosen.*
Related¶
- Instantiates: Framing Effect Audit — Presentation Sensitivity Table is the audit's record of tested frames, effects, thresholds, and dispositions.
- Consumes: the probe mechanisms — Baseline Reference Swap, Gain/Loss Frame Comparison, Order-Effect Check, Survey Frame Split Sample, Visual Framing Audit — supply the rows it records.
- Sibling mechanisms: Blinded Frame Review · Dashboard Framing Review · Wording Test
Editorial Notes¶
Form Classification¶
Form family: Record, Log & Register
Rationale: Presentation Sensitivity Table operates as a persistent ledger, log, register, or case record that preserves history and traceability because it a single ledger that records every frame variable tested, the shift each one produced, the materiality threshold applied, and the resulting disclosure or redesign decision.
Independent corroboration: The frozen evidence defines Presentation Sensitivity Table as 'A single ledger that records every frame variable tested, the shift each one produced, the materiality threshold applied, and the resulting disclosure or redesign decision', so its operative form is Record, Log & Register.
Review outcome: Independent reviewer agreement; high confidence.
Origin Attribution¶
Primary origin: Behavioral Economics
Origin pattern: Cross-disciplinary synthesis
Present-day reach: Multi-domain
Rationale: Presentation Sensitivity Table is most plausibly rooted in the behavioral_economics tradition because its characteristic form depends on choice architecture, behavioral response, and predictable judgment effects. The assignment tracks that formative lineage, not the many settings in which the mechanism can now be applied.
Related originating lineages:
- Psychology — The psychology tradition materially shaped Presentation Sensitivity Table through its own practice of individual cognition, motivation, judgment, and behavior.
- Statistics & Experimental Design — The statistics_experimental_design tradition materially shaped Presentation Sensitivity Table through its own practice of probability, calibrated inference, experimental design, and uncertainty analysis.
Review resolution: Both blind reviewers agree that behavioral economics is the primary origin. Explicit reconciliation resolves reported ambiguity. Formative alternate lineages are retained as psychology, statistics_experimental_design; later breadth of use is recorded separately as domain_reach=multi_domain, while origin_mode=cross_disciplinary_synthesis describes the relationship among origin lineages.
Attribution caveat: The exact encyclopedia label appears to synthesize established practices; the primary domain identifies the strongest formative lineage, while the alternates record material ingredients rather than downstream uses. The ledger-like audit form is synthetic, but the frame-variation test has recognizable behavioral origins.
Encyclopedia synthesis: The exact catalogued form synthesizes established practice rather than reproducing a single standard historical label.
Review outcome: Reconciled after independent review; medium confidence.
Notes¶
[n1] Sensitivity analysis — the general practice of recording how much a conclusion moves as an input or assumption is varied, so that a decision can be judged on how robust it is rather than on a single headline result. The table applies that idea to presentation frames rather than model parameters. ↩