Abstract

To make the process of identifying and recognizing needs more transparent and to postulate a theory of need-based justice, we investigated various frames in which decision problems were embedded. External frames in a strict sense, with gain and loss frames in risky choices and need as an additional factor, showed significant differences in choice frequencies. External frames in a loose sense, such as time constraints, different diseases in an Asian Disease paradigm, and the identifiability of a needy person, showed framing effects and mixed results with respect to need. Internal frames measured by personality inventories also showed mixed results. The dual-stage dual-process model includes a normative part and a descriptive part, which both account for framing effects. In one version of the model, the normative part includes the expected utility model modified by the Stone–Geary function.