How Time Pressure Amplifies Framing Effects in Risky Decision-Making: The Role of Attentional Allocation and Information Presentation

Decision-making under time pressure has been associated with reduced deliberation and increased sensitivity to contextual cues such as framing. This study investigates how time pressure reshapes information processing in risky decision-making and which types of information receive greater attention when cognitive resources are constrained. Two experiments examined the combined effects of time pressure, spatial position, and presentation order on framing effects, integrating behavioral risk-choice measures with gaze-based indices of attention allocation. The results show that time pressure significantly reduces fixation counts and fixation durations, suggesting more restricted information search. Moreover, time pressure enhances frame-consistent risk preferences, with contextual presentation factors further shaping decision outcomes. Specifically, under time pressure and loss framing, stronger risk seeking emerged when the certain option was presented second. Overall, these findings suggest that time pressure not only amplifies framing effects in risky decision-making but also is associated with changes in attentional allocation patterns and increased reliance on contextual cues underlying framed choices. This study highlights how the temporal and spatial characteristics of information presentation shape decision processes under temporal constraint and provides theoretical and practical implications for decision-making under pressure.