Hello nerd family,
You’ve heard it a million times: people fear losses more than they value gains. That is why we often write headlines like “Stop WASTING money on fees” instead of “SAVE money with our app.”
But does loss framing really work better every time?
What the study tested:
People were given short stories and asked to make choices. Some stories felt close and personal, like a flu outbreak in their city. Others felt distant, like something happening abroad or years in the future.
Each story was written two ways, one showing what could be gained and one showing what could be lost (Raue, Streicher, Lermer, and Frey, 2015).
🧪What they found:
When it felt close or personal
People reacted more to losses than to gains.
Example:
“Skip your flu shot today and you risk getting sick this season”
…was stronger than…
“Get your flu shot today and stay healthy this season.”
When it felt distant or abstract
The difference between losses and gains mostly went away.
Example:
“If you do not get regular checkups, you could lose your health in old age”
…felt about the same as…
“Get regular checkups and enjoy good health in old age.”
Why?
Our brain has two main ways of thinking, and distance decides which one we use.
Close = emotional mode. The emotional part of the brain takes over. Losses feel sharper because the brain treats them like a threat, a possible danger to health, safety, or resources. Gains do not trigger the same alarm, so they feel less intense.
Far = logical mode. We zoom out and think in general terms. The logical brain is more active, so losses and gains feel about the same.
This comes from Construal Level Theory (Trope & Liberman, 2010), which shows that psychological distance in time, space, or likelihood changes how we think. When something feels close, thinking is concrete and emotional. When it feels far, thinking is abstract and logical.
💡Takeaway
If the decision is personal or urgent: use loss framing
If the decision is impersonal or seems far away: doesn’t matter - go with whichever one you like more :)
Stay awesome my friend,
Ksenia (the biggest nerd)
P.S. Thank you, it means a lot that marketers and business owners like you are reading my newsletter.
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