Behavioral Economics of Digital Communication How Language Shapes Consumer Decisions

Behavioural economics has established that cognitive biases and framing effects systematically shape human decision-making. However, the linguistic component of framing and its interaction with digital choice environments remain under-theorised. This article is a structured conceptual/theoretical review (theory-building) designed for model development. Accordingly, the manuscript should not be interpreted as a systematic review or meta-analysis; the PRISMA-inspired flow diagram is used solely as an illustrative transparency overview for evidence mapping. It synthesises behavioural economics, cognitive psychology, linguistics, and HCI/UX evidence to conceptualise linguistic cues as structural components of digital choice architecture. We show that linguistic cues – such as gain–loss wording, emotional valence, normative phrasing, grammatical tense, and ownership language – activate core behavioural mechanisms including loss aversion, affect heuristics, intertemporal preferences, and social proof. These mechanisms are further shaped by digital environments where defaults, microcopy, and interface cues reinforce or counteract linguistic framing. Building on interdisciplinary findings, the article introduces three author-developed models that extend behavioural economics theory. The Linguistic Choice Architecture (LCA) Matrix maps linguistic cues onto behavioural mechanisms and their digital expressions, positioning language as an integral component of choice architecture. The Process Mechanism Model (PMeM) explains how linguistic triggers, cognitive evaluations, neural activation, and digital architectures sequentially transform stimuli into economic decisions. The Mind–Interface–Message (MIM) Alignment Model conceptualises economic choices as outcomes emerging from the alignment or misalignment of cognitive mechanisms (Mind), digital environments (Interface), and linguistic framing (Message). These models collectively demonstrate that linguistic framing is not merely communicative but constitutes behavioural infrastructure that shapes decision processes in contemporary digital markets.