Framing legal fines: How message presentation affects severity perceptions

In many public settings, legal notices communicate fines for minor violations, often using different phrasings such as "up to," "maximum," "or below," or "range." This research examines whether these wording differences influence perceived severity and deterrence intentions.

We hypothesized that up-to and maximum frames would elicit higher perceived severity than or-below and range frames, with the range frame yielding the lowest severity perceptions. We further anticipated that these effects would be mitigated for more serious offenses.

Three preregistered between-subjects experiments (Study 1: N = 401; Study 2: N = 400; Study 3: N = 400; all U.K. adults) presented participants with public notice scenarios. Participants read a notice about a minor offense (littering) in Studies 1 and 2 and a more serious offense (vandalism) in Study 3. Participants were randomly assigned to one of four framing conditions and reported perceived severity, penalty estimates, and deterrence intentions.

For the minor offense (Studies 1 and 2), up-to and maximum frames resulted in the highest perceived severity, followed by the or-below frame, with the range frame yielding the lowest. The range frame also resulted in significantly lower penalty estimates and weaker deterrence intentions. However, when the same framing manipulation was applied to a more serious offense (Study 3), these effects disappeared: framing did not significantly influence perceived severity, penalty expectations, or deterrence intentions.

Fine-framing matters primarily when the offense is minor and the consequences are relatively ambiguous. As offenses become more serious, perceptions appear to be anchored by the inherent gravity of the violation, reducing sensitivity to wording differences. This research identifies a boundary condition for linguistic framing effects in legal communication and suggests that strategically chosen fine frames may serve as an effective, low-cost tool to promote compliance in everyday public behavior contexts. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).