Effect of framing on the perception of genetic recurrence risks.

Individuals asked to evaluate genetic recurrence risks were found to be influenced by the way the risks were framed. Presenting a single risk figure resulted in overweighting of low probabilities and underweighting of high probabilities, as compared to presenting a list of sequential risks. Differences were also found between meanings attached to verbal expressions of risks when translating from verbal to numerical expressions, and vice versa. The implications of these findings for genetic counseling are discussed.