Framing (social sciences)
Encyclopedia
A frame in social theory
consists of a schema
of interpretation
— that is, a collection of anecdotes and stereotype
s—that individuals rely on to understand and respond to events. In simpler terms, people build a series of mental filters through biological and cultural influences. They use these filters to make sense of the world. The choices they then make are influenced by their creation of a frame. Framing is also a key component of sociology, the study of social interaction among humans.
In psychology, framing is influenced by the background of a context choice and the way in which the question is worded (see Framing effect (psychology)
).
Framing, a term used in media studies
, sociology
and psychology
, refers to the social construction of a social phenomenon
by mass media
sources or specific political or social movements or organizations. It is an inevitable process of selective influence over the individual's perception
of the meanings attributed to words or phrases. A frame defines the packaging of an element of rhetoric
in such a way as to encourage certain interpretations and to discourage others.
Though the former might result from a speck of dust (resulting in an involuntary and not particularly meaningful reaction), the latter would imply a voluntary and meaningful action (to convey humor to an accomplice, for example). Observers will read events seen as purely physical or within a frame of "nature" differently than those seen as occurring with social frames. But we do not look at an event and then "apply" a frame to it. Rather, individuals constantly project into the world around them the interpretive frames that allow them to make sense of it; we only shift frames (or realize that we have habitually applied a frame) when incongruity calls for a frame-shift. In other words, we only become aware of the frames that we always already use when something forces us to replace one frame with another.
Framing is so effective because it is a heuristic, or mental shortcut that may not always yield desired results; and is seen as a 'rule of thumb'. According to Susan T. Fiske and Shelley E. Taylor, human beings are by nature “cognitive misers”, meaning they prefer to do as little thinking as possible. Frames provide people a quick and easy way to process information. Hence, people will use the previously mentioned mental filters (a series of which is called a schema) to make sense of incoming messages. This gives the sender and framer of the information enormous power to use these schemas to influence how the receivers will interpret the message.
First, in terms of practices of news production, there are at least five aspects of news work that may influence how journalists frame a certain issue: larger societal norms and values, organizational pressures and constraints, external pressures from interest groups and other policy makers, professional routines, and ideological or political orientations of journalists. The second potential influence on frame building comes from elites, including interest groups, government bureaucracies, and other political or corporate actors. Empirical studies show that these influences of elites seem to be strongest for issues in which journalists and various players in the policy arena can find shared narratives. Finally, cultural contexts of a society are also able to establish frame. Goffman assumes that the meaning of a frame has implicit cultural roots. This context dependency of media frame has been described as 'cultural resonance' or 'narrative fidelity'
There are a number of levels and types of framing effects which have been examined. For example, scholars have focused on attitudinal and behavioral changes, the degrees of perceived importance of the issue, voting decisions, and opinion formations. Others are interested in psychological processes other than applicability. For instance, Iyengar suggested that news about social problems can influence attributions of causal and treatment responsibility, an effect observed in both cognitive responses and evaluations of political leaders, or other scholars looked at the framing effects on receivers' evaluative processing style and the complexity of audience members' thoughts about issues.
Kosicki and McCombs & Shaw suggest the theoretical integration of framing and priming under the umbrella of agenda setting as a complex model of media effects hypothesis linking media production, content, and audience effects. Kosicki attempts to embrace the much informal and loose talk or writing describing agenda setting as a hypothesis to expand the theoretical and empirical boundaries and scope of agenda setting. He criticizes the limited characteristics of news issues that are frequently adopted in framing research; that is, “issue [of framing] should be something in dispute, that is, something about which it is possible to articulate more than one point of view”, but he also argue that agenda setting framework almost everything worth knowing about how the media cover an issue.
Recently, Scheufele & Tewksbury suggest that talking the three effects models together is good because they all mark a transition away from traditional media effect theories, such as Cultivation and Spiral of Silence, that hypothesize unidirectional and unmediated media effects on various perceptual and behavioral outcomes. However, they argue that those three concepts cannot be integrated due to the underlying theoretical differences. According to these authors, agenda setting and priming are based on the same premises, salience-based effects (accessibility effects), but framing is based on premises differ from those of agenda setting and priming, applicability effects.
Framing is conceptually differentiated from agenda setting and priming. Framing is based on the assumption that how an issue is characterized in new reports can have an influence on how it is understood by audiences. That is, framing influences how audiences think about issues, not by making aspects of the issue more salient (or accessible), but by invoking interpretive schemas that influence the interpretation of incoming information.
In contrast, the effects of agenda setting and priming are based on cognitive processing of semantic information. By receiving and processing information, issues are primed and made more accessible in an individual’s memory. The idea of accessibility is the foundation of a memory-based model of information processing, which assumes that judgments and attitude formation are directly correlated with the ease in which instances or associations could be brought in mind. That is, both approaches assume that media can make a certain issue more accessible for people and thereby influence the standards they use when forming attitudes about the issue. The authors imply that those three approaches should not be simply integrated for the sake of parsimony because of the different premises.
Amos Tversky
and Daniel Kahneman
have shown that framing can affect the outcome (ie. the choices one makes) of choice problems, to the extent that several of the classic axioms of rational choice do not hold. This led to the development of prospect theory
as an alternative to rational choice theory.
The context or framing of problems adopted by decision-makers results in part from extrinsic manipulation of the decision-options offered, as well as from forces intrinsic to decision-makers, e.g., their norms, habits, and unique temperament
.
The first group of participants was presented with a choice between programs:
In a group of 600 people,
72 percent of participants preferred program A (the remainder, 28 percent, opting for program B).
The second group of participants was presented with the choice between:
In a group of 600 people,
In this decision frame, 78 percent preferred program D, with the remaining 22 percent opting for program C.
Programs A and C are identical, as are programs B and D. The change in the decision frame between the two groups of participants produced a preference reversal: when the programs were presented in terms of lives saved, the participants preferred the secure program, A (= C). When the programs were presented in terms of expected deaths, participants chose the gamble D (= B).
s, wherein one may express benefits either as a relative risk reduction (RRR), or as absolute risk reduction (ARR). Extrinsic control over the cognitive distinctions (between risk tolerance and reward anticipation
) adopted by decision makers can occur through altering the presentation of relative risk
s and absolute
benefits.
People generally prefer the absolute certainty inherent in a positive framing-effect, which offers an assurance of gains. When decision-options appear framed as a likely gain, risk-averse choices predominate.
A shift toward risk-seeking behavior occurs when a decision-maker frames decisions in negative terms, or adopts a negative framing effect.
In medical decision making, framing bias is best avoided by using absolute measures of efficacy.
Researchers have found that framing-manipulation invariably affects subjects, but to varying degrees. Individuals proved risk averse when presented with value-increasing options; but when faced with value decreasing contingencies, they tended towards increased risk-taking. Researchers found that variations in decision-framing achieved by manipulating the options to represent either a gain or as a loss altered the risk-aversion preferences of decision-makers.
In one study, 57% of the subjects chose a medication when presented with benefits in relative terms, whereas only 14.7% chose a medication whose benefit appeared in absolute terms. Further questioning of the patients suggested that, because the subjects ignored the underlying risk of disease, they perceived benefits as greater when expressed in relative terms.-
s have linked the framing-effect to neural activity in the amygdala
, and have identified another brain-region, the orbital and medial prefrontal cortex
(OMPFC), that appears to moderate the role of emotion
on decisions. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging
(fMRI) to monitor brain-activity during a financial decision-making task, they observed greater activity in the OMPFC of those research subjects less susceptible to framing-effects.
, news
(Johnson-Cartee, 1995), politics, and social movement
s (among other applications).
According to some sociologists, the "social construction of collective action frames" involves "public discourse, that is, the interface of media discourse and interpersonal interaction; persuasive communication during mobilization campaigns by movement organizations, their opponents and countermovement organizations; and consciousness raising during episodes of collective action."
or diction has been a component of rhetoric
since time immemorial. But most commentators attribute the concept of framing to the work of Erving Goffman
and point especially to his 1974 book, Frame analysis: An essay on the organization of experience. Goffman used the idea of frames to label "schemata of interpretation" that allow individuals or groups "to locate, perceive, identify, and label" events and occurrences, thus rendering meaning, organizing experiences, and guiding actions.
Goffman's framing concept evolved out of his 1959 work, The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life
, a commentary on the management
of impression
s. These works arguably depend on Kenneth Boulding's concept of image.
s.
Movements act as carriers of beliefs and ideologies (compare meme
s). In addition, they operate as part of the process of constructing meaning for participants and opposers (Snow & Benford, 1988). Sociologists deem mass-movements "successful" when the frames projected align with the frames of participants to produce resonance between the two parties. Researchers of framing speak of this process as frame re-alignment.
producing "frame resonance", a catalyst in the process of a group making the transition from one frame to another (although not all framing efforts prove successful). The conditions that affect or constrain framing efforts include:
Snow and Benford (1988) propose that once someone has constructed proper frames as described above, large-scale changes in society such as those necessary for social movement can be achieved through frame-alignment.
When this happens, the securing of participants and support requires new values, new meanings and understandings. Goffman (1974, p. 43–44) calls this "keying", where "activities, events, and biographies that are already meaningful from the standpoint of some primary framework, in terms of another framework" (Snow et al., 1986, p. 474) such that they are seen differently. Two types of frame transformation exist:
(i.e., terministic screens), political communication researcher Jim A. Kuypers
first published work advancing "framing analysis" as a rhetorical perspective in 1997. His approach begins inductively by looking for themes that persist across time in a text (for Kuypers, primarily news narratives on an issue or event), and then determining how those themes are framed. Kuypers’ work begins with the assumption that frames are powerful rhetorical entities that “induce us to filter our perceptions of the world in particular ways, essentially making some aspects of our multi-dimensional reality more noticeable than other aspects. They operate by making some information more salient than other information. . . .”
In his 2009 work, Rhetorical Criticism: Perspectives in Action Kuypers offers a detailed template for doing framing analysis from a rhetorical perspective. According Kuypers, "Framing is a process whereby communicators, consciously or unconsciously, act to construct a point of view that encourages the facts of a given situation to be interpreted by others in a particular manner. Frames operate in four key ways: they define problems, diagnose causes, make moral judgments, and suggest remedies. Frames are often found within a narrative account of an issue or event, and are generally the central organizing idea." Kuypers’ work is based on the premise that framing is a rhetorical process and as such it is best examined from a rhetorical point of view.
In episodic framing, the coverage focuses on a single event or instance and does not provide much background information on the subject. This leads the receiver of the frame to assume the individual is responsible. For example, on a story about healthcare, episodic framing would cause a viewer to believe that a person who gets sick but does not have health insurance was being irresponsible, when in fact there may have been other factors at play that the individual cannot control.
In thematic framing, the coverage puts the issue in a general or abstract context while providing a lot of background information. This leads to the frame receivers assuming society is at fault for all problems. Using the same healthcare example, thematic framing would cause television viewers to think that society is at fault for everyone who does not possess health insurance, when in fact in some cases people are irresponsible.
. Proponents of accessibility vs. applicability models argue that the inclusion of framing under agenda-setting concepts leads to vague definitions that are difficult to study and characterize, while others argue that separating the concepts of agenda setting and framing creates definitions that are too specific.
In particular, agenda setting is typically defined in terms of salience transfer, whereby the prevalence of an issue in news media determines the perceived importance of that issue in the eyes of the public. In this way, the accessibility or salience of the issue at the individual level is determined by the number of times that individual has been exposed to the issue, regardless of the way that issue is presented. The concept of priming
extends from this definition, whereby the most salient/accessible issues in people’s minds are the most influential in their judgements of related topics.
In contrast to accessibility-based effects, framing effects are often distinguished as relying more on how information is presented, rather than being determined by message prevalence. Moreover, the goal of framing is to selectively activate, or apply, particular cognitive schema in the minds of the audience as a way of influencing how the presented information is understood and evaluated.
Some arguments for a unified concept posit that agenda-setting effects are more complex; that prevalence may affect understanding and/or that frames may affect salience. McCombs argues that “The news not only tells us what to think about; it also tells us how to think about it.”
Similarly, some research groups place framing under the definition of second level agenda setting. First level agenda setting determines issue importance, while second level agenda setting draws on repeated discussion of specific issue attributes. For these definitions, framing is equated to second level agenda setting.
goal in politics
, particularly in the United States of America. Both the Democratic
and Republican
political parties compete to successfully harness its power of persuasion. According to the New York Times:
Because framing has the ability to alter the public’s perception, politicians engage in battles to determine how issues are framed. Hence, the way the issues are framed in the media reflects who is winning the battle. For instance, according to Robert Entman, professor of Communication at George Washington University, in the build-up to the Gulf War the conservatives were successful in making the debate whether to attack sooner or later, with no mention of the possibility of not attacking. Since the media picked up on this and also framed the debate in this fashion, the conservatives won.
George Lakoff
, a Berkeley
professor of cognitive linguistics
, has been a prominent voice in discussing the effects of framing on politics.
One particular example of Lakoff's work that attained some degree of fame was his advice to rename trial lawyers (unpopular in the United States) as "public protection attorneys". Though Americans have not generally adopted this suggestion, the Association of Trial Lawyers of America
did rename themselves the "American Association of Justice", in what the Chamber of Commerce
called an effort to hide their identity.
The New York Times depicted similar intensity among Republicans:
From a political perspective, framing has widespread consequences. For example, the concept of framing links with that of agenda-setting: by consistently invoking a particular frame, the framing party may effectively control discussion and perception of the issue. Sheldon Rampton
and John Stauber
in Trust Us, We're Experts
illustrate how public-relations
(PR) firms often use language to help frame a given issue, structuring the questions that then subsequently emerge. For example, one firm advises clients to use "bridging language" that uses a strategy of answering questions with specific terms or ideas in order to shift the discourse from an uncomfortable topic to a more comfortable one.
Practitioners of this strategy might attempt to draw attention away from one frame in order to focus on another. As Lakoff notes, "On the day that George W. Bush
took office, the words "tax relief" started coming out of the White House."
By refocusing the structure away from one frame ("tax burden" or "tax responsibilities"), individuals can set the agenda of the questions asked in the future.
Cognitive linguists
point to an example of framing in the phrase "tax relief
". In this frame, use of the concept "relief" entails a concept of (without mentioning the benefits resulting from) taxes putting strain on the citizen:
Alternative frames may emphasize the concept of taxes as a source of infrastructural support to businesses:
Frames can limit debate by setting the vocabulary and metaphor
s through which participants can comprehend and discuss an issue. They form a part not just of political discourse, but of cognition
. In addition to generating new frames, politically-oriented framing research aims to increase public awareness of the connection between framing and reasoning.
.
Social theory
Social theories are theoretical frameworks which are used to study and interpret social phenomena within a particular school of thought. An essential tool used by social scientists, theories relate to historical debates over the most valid and reliable methodologies , as well as the primacy of...
consists of a schema
Schema (psychology)
A schema , in psychology and cognitive science, describes any of several concepts including:* An organized pattern of thought or behavior.* A structured cluster of pre-conceived ideas....
of interpretation
Interpretation (logic)
An interpretation is an assignment of meaning to the symbols of a formal language. Many formal languages used in mathematics, logic, and theoretical computer science are defined in solely syntactic terms, and as such do not have any meaning until they are given some interpretation...
— that is, a collection of anecdotes and stereotype
Stereotype
A stereotype is a popular belief about specific social groups or types of individuals. The concepts of "stereotype" and "prejudice" are often confused with many other different meanings...
s—that individuals rely on to understand and respond to events. In simpler terms, people build a series of mental filters through biological and cultural influences. They use these filters to make sense of the world. The choices they then make are influenced by their creation of a frame. Framing is also a key component of sociology, the study of social interaction among humans.
In psychology, framing is influenced by the background of a context choice and the way in which the question is worded (see Framing effect (psychology)
Framing effect (psychology)
The framing effect, one of the cognitive biases, describes that presenting the same option in different formats can alter people's decisions. Specifically, individuals have a tendency to select inconsistent choices, depending on whether the question is framed to concentrate on losses or gains...
).
Framing, a term used in media studies
Media studies
Media studies is an academic discipline and field of study that deals with the content, history and effects of various media; in particular, the 'mass media'. Media studies may draw on traditions from both the social sciences and the humanities, but mostly from its core disciplines of mass...
, sociology
Sociology
Sociology is the study of society. It is a social science—a term with which it is sometimes synonymous—which uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about human social activity...
and psychology
Psychology
Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...
, refers to the social construction of a social phenomenon
Social phenomenon
Social phenomena include all behavior which influences or is influenced by organisms sufficiently alive to respond to one another.-See also:*Forms of activity and interpersonal relations*List of sociology topics*Social fact-References:...
by mass media
Mass media
Mass media refers collectively to all media technologies which are intended to reach a large audience via mass communication. Broadcast media transmit their information electronically and comprise of television, film and radio, movies, CDs, DVDs and some other gadgets like cameras or video consoles...
sources or specific political or social movements or organizations. It is an inevitable process of selective influence over the individual's perception
Perception
Perception is the process of attaining awareness or understanding of the environment by organizing and interpreting sensory information. All perception involves signals in the nervous system, which in turn result from physical stimulation of the sense organs...
of the meanings attributed to words or phrases. A frame defines the packaging of an element of rhetoric
Rhetoric
Rhetoric is the art of discourse, an art that aims to improve the facility of speakers or writers who attempt to inform, persuade, or motivate particular audiences in specific situations. As a subject of formal study and a productive civic practice, rhetoric has played a central role in the Western...
in such a way as to encourage certain interpretations and to discourage others.
Explanation of the Concept
When one seeks to explain an event, the understanding often depends on the frame referred to. If a friend rapidly closes and opens an eye, we will respond very differently depending on whether we attribute this to a purely "physical" frame (s/he blinked) or to a social frame (s/he winked).Though the former might result from a speck of dust (resulting in an involuntary and not particularly meaningful reaction), the latter would imply a voluntary and meaningful action (to convey humor to an accomplice, for example). Observers will read events seen as purely physical or within a frame of "nature" differently than those seen as occurring with social frames. But we do not look at an event and then "apply" a frame to it. Rather, individuals constantly project into the world around them the interpretive frames that allow them to make sense of it; we only shift frames (or realize that we have habitually applied a frame) when incongruity calls for a frame-shift. In other words, we only become aware of the frames that we always already use when something forces us to replace one frame with another.
Framing is so effective because it is a heuristic, or mental shortcut that may not always yield desired results; and is seen as a 'rule of thumb'. According to Susan T. Fiske and Shelley E. Taylor, human beings are by nature “cognitive misers”, meaning they prefer to do as little thinking as possible. Frames provide people a quick and easy way to process information. Hence, people will use the previously mentioned mental filters (a series of which is called a schema) to make sense of incoming messages. This gives the sender and framer of the information enormous power to use these schemas to influence how the receivers will interpret the message.
Framing effect in communication research
In the field of communication, framing defines how news media coverage shape mass opinion. To specific, framing effects refer to behavioral or attitudinal outcomes that are due to how a given piece of information is being framed in public discourse. Today, every volume of the major communication journals contains at least one paper on media frames and framing effects . However, it needs to classify different approaches to framing research in communication into two groups: studies of framing as the dependent variable and studies of framing as the independent variable (. The former usually deals with frame building (i.e., how frames creates societal discourse about an issue and how different frames are adopted by journalists) and latter concerns framing setting (i.e., how media frame influences on audience).Frame building
Frame building is related to at least three areas: journalist norms, political actors, and cultural contexts. It assumes that several media frames compete to set one frame regarding an issue, and one frame finally gains influence because it resonates with popular culture, fits with media practices, or is heavily sponsored by elites.First, in terms of practices of news production, there are at least five aspects of news work that may influence how journalists frame a certain issue: larger societal norms and values, organizational pressures and constraints, external pressures from interest groups and other policy makers, professional routines, and ideological or political orientations of journalists. The second potential influence on frame building comes from elites, including interest groups, government bureaucracies, and other political or corporate actors. Empirical studies show that these influences of elites seem to be strongest for issues in which journalists and various players in the policy arena can find shared narratives. Finally, cultural contexts of a society are also able to establish frame. Goffman assumes that the meaning of a frame has implicit cultural roots. This context dependency of media frame has been described as 'cultural resonance' or 'narrative fidelity'
Frame Setting
When people are exposed to novel news frame, audience will accept the constructs made applicable to an issue, but they are significantly more likely to do so when they have existing schema for those constructs. It is called the applicability effect. That is, when news frame invites people to apply their existing schema to an issue, the implication of that application depends, in part, on what is in that schema. Therefore, generally, the more the audiences know about issues, the more effective are frames, but it is not always possible.There are a number of levels and types of framing effects which have been examined. For example, scholars have focused on attitudinal and behavioral changes, the degrees of perceived importance of the issue, voting decisions, and opinion formations. Others are interested in psychological processes other than applicability. For instance, Iyengar suggested that news about social problems can influence attributions of causal and treatment responsibility, an effect observed in both cognitive responses and evaluations of political leaders, or other scholars looked at the framing effects on receivers' evaluative processing style and the complexity of audience members' thoughts about issues.
Framing, priming, and agenda setting
One of the controversial issues regarding framing in the field of communication is the matter of theoretical integration. Many communication scholars theoretically attempt to either integrate , or distinguish framing from related concepts in communication, including agenda setting and priming.Kosicki and McCombs & Shaw suggest the theoretical integration of framing and priming under the umbrella of agenda setting as a complex model of media effects hypothesis linking media production, content, and audience effects. Kosicki attempts to embrace the much informal and loose talk or writing describing agenda setting as a hypothesis to expand the theoretical and empirical boundaries and scope of agenda setting. He criticizes the limited characteristics of news issues that are frequently adopted in framing research; that is, “issue [of framing] should be something in dispute, that is, something about which it is possible to articulate more than one point of view”, but he also argue that agenda setting framework almost everything worth knowing about how the media cover an issue.
Recently, Scheufele & Tewksbury suggest that talking the three effects models together is good because they all mark a transition away from traditional media effect theories, such as Cultivation and Spiral of Silence, that hypothesize unidirectional and unmediated media effects on various perceptual and behavioral outcomes. However, they argue that those three concepts cannot be integrated due to the underlying theoretical differences. According to these authors, agenda setting and priming are based on the same premises, salience-based effects (accessibility effects), but framing is based on premises differ from those of agenda setting and priming, applicability effects.
Framing is conceptually differentiated from agenda setting and priming. Framing is based on the assumption that how an issue is characterized in new reports can have an influence on how it is understood by audiences. That is, framing influences how audiences think about issues, not by making aspects of the issue more salient (or accessible), but by invoking interpretive schemas that influence the interpretation of incoming information.
In contrast, the effects of agenda setting and priming are based on cognitive processing of semantic information. By receiving and processing information, issues are primed and made more accessible in an individual’s memory. The idea of accessibility is the foundation of a memory-based model of information processing, which assumes that judgments and attitude formation are directly correlated with the ease in which instances or associations could be brought in mind. That is, both approaches assume that media can make a certain issue more accessible for people and thereby influence the standards they use when forming attitudes about the issue. The authors imply that those three approaches should not be simply integrated for the sake of parsimony because of the different premises.
Framing effect in psychology and economics
Amos Tversky
Amos Tversky
Amos Nathan Tversky, was a cognitive and mathematical psychologist, a pioneer of cognitive science, a longtime collaborator of Daniel Kahneman, and a key figure in the discovery of systematic human cognitive bias and handling of risk. Much of his early work concerned the foundations of measurement...
and Daniel Kahneman
Daniel Kahneman
Daniel Kahneman is an Israeli-American psychologist and Nobel laureate. He is notable for his work on the psychology of judgment and decision-making, behavioral economics and hedonic psychology....
have shown that framing can affect the outcome (ie. the choices one makes) of choice problems, to the extent that several of the classic axioms of rational choice do not hold. This led to the development of prospect theory
Prospect theory
Prospect theory is a theory that describes decisions between alternatives that involve risk i.e. where the probabilities of outcomes are known. The model is descriptive: it tries to model real-life choices, rather than optimal decisions.-Model:...
as an alternative to rational choice theory.
The context or framing of problems adopted by decision-makers results in part from extrinsic manipulation of the decision-options offered, as well as from forces intrinsic to decision-makers, e.g., their norms, habits, and unique temperament
Temperament
In psychology, temperament refers to those aspects of an individual's personality, such as introversion or extroversion, that are often regarded as innate rather than learned...
.
Experimental demonstration
Tversky and Kahneman (1981) demonstrated systematic reversals of preference when the same problem is presented in different ways, for example in the Asian disease problem. Participants were asked to "imagine that the U.S. is preparing for the outbreak of an unusual Asian disease, which is expected to kill 600 people. Two alternative programs to combat the disease have been proposed. Assume the exact scientific estimate of the consequences of the programs are as follows."The first group of participants was presented with a choice between programs:
In a group of 600 people,
- Program A: "200 people will be saved"
- Program B: "there is a one-third probability that 600 people will be saved, and a two-thirds probability that no people will be saved"
72 percent of participants preferred program A (the remainder, 28 percent, opting for program B).
The second group of participants was presented with the choice between:
In a group of 600 people,
- Program C: "400 people will die"
- Program D: "there is a one-third probability that nobody will die, and a two-third probability that 600 people will die"
In this decision frame, 78 percent preferred program D, with the remaining 22 percent opting for program C.
Programs A and C are identical, as are programs B and D. The change in the decision frame between the two groups of participants produced a preference reversal: when the programs were presented in terms of lives saved, the participants preferred the secure program, A (= C). When the programs were presented in terms of expected deaths, participants chose the gamble D (= B).
Absolute and relative influences
Framing effects arise because one can frequently frame a decision using multiple scenarioScenario
A scenario is a synoptical collage of an event or series of actions and events. In the Commedia dell'arte it was an outline of entrances, exits, and action describing the plot of a play that was literally pinned to the back of the scenery...
s, wherein one may express benefits either as a relative risk reduction (RRR), or as absolute risk reduction (ARR). Extrinsic control over the cognitive distinctions (between risk tolerance and reward anticipation
Incentive
In economics and sociology, an incentive is any factor that enables or motivates a particular course of action, or counts as a reason for preferring one choice to the alternatives. It is an expectation that encourages people to behave in a certain way...
) adopted by decision makers can occur through altering the presentation of relative risk
Relative risk
In statistics and mathematical epidemiology, relative risk is the risk of an event relative to exposure. Relative risk is a ratio of the probability of the event occurring in the exposed group versus a non-exposed group....
s and absolute
Three degrees of comparison
In English grammar, the degree of comparison of an adjective or adverb describes the relational value of one thing with something in another clause of a sentence...
benefits.
People generally prefer the absolute certainty inherent in a positive framing-effect, which offers an assurance of gains. When decision-options appear framed as a likely gain, risk-averse choices predominate.
A shift toward risk-seeking behavior occurs when a decision-maker frames decisions in negative terms, or adopts a negative framing effect.
In medical decision making, framing bias is best avoided by using absolute measures of efficacy.
Frame-manipulation research
Researchers have found that framing decision-problems in a positive light generally results in less-risky choices; with negative framing of problems, riskier choices tend to result. According to behavioral economists:- positive framing effects (associated with risk aversionRisk aversionRisk aversion is a concept in psychology, economics, and finance, based on the behavior of humans while exposed to uncertainty....
) result from presentation of options as sure (or absolute) gains - negative framing effects (associated with a preference shift toward choosing riskier options) result from options presented as the relative likelihood of losses
Researchers have found that framing-manipulation invariably affects subjects, but to varying degrees. Individuals proved risk averse when presented with value-increasing options; but when faced with value decreasing contingencies, they tended towards increased risk-taking. Researchers found that variations in decision-framing achieved by manipulating the options to represent either a gain or as a loss altered the risk-aversion preferences of decision-makers.
In one study, 57% of the subjects chose a medication when presented with benefits in relative terms, whereas only 14.7% chose a medication whose benefit appeared in absolute terms. Further questioning of the patients suggested that, because the subjects ignored the underlying risk of disease, they perceived benefits as greater when expressed in relative terms.-
Theoretical models
Researchers have proposed various models explaining the framing effect:- cognitive theories, such as the Fuzzy-trace theoryFuzzy-trace theoryFuzzy-Trace Theory is a theory that is used in several different areas of psychology, such as cognitive, developmental and social psychology. FTT is a theory of memory and cognition with broad ramifications for the study of judgment and decision-making and two decades of empirical support...
, attempt to explain framing-effects by determining the amount of cognitive processing effort devoted to determining the value of potential gains and losses. - prospect theoryProspect theoryProspect theory is a theory that describes decisions between alternatives that involve risk i.e. where the probabilities of outcomes are known. The model is descriptive: it tries to model real-life choices, rather than optimal decisions.-Model:...
explains the framing-effect in functional terms, determined by preferences for differing perceived values, based on the assumption that people give a greater weighting to losses than to equivalent gains. - motivationMotivationMotivation is the driving force by which humans achieve their goals. Motivation is said to be intrinsic or extrinsic. The term is generally used for humans but it can also be used to describe the causes for animal behavior as well. This article refers to human motivation...
al theories explain framing-effects in terms of hedonic forces affecting individuals, such as fears and wishes—based on the notion that negative emotions evoked by potential losses usually out-weigh the emotions evoked by hypothetical gains. - cognitive cost-benefitCost-benefit analysisCost–benefit analysis , sometimes called benefit–cost analysis , is a systematic process for calculating and comparing benefits and costs of a project for two purposes: to determine if it is a sound investment , to see how it compares with alternate projects...
trade-off theory defines choice as a compromise between desires, either as a preference for a correct decision or a preference for minimized cognitive effort. This model, which dovetails elements of cognitive and motivational theories, postulates that calculating the value of a sure gain takes much less cognitive effort than that required to select a risky gain.
Neuroimaging
Cognitive neuroscientistNeuroscientist
A neuroscientist is an individual who studies the scientific field of neuroscience or any of its related sub-fields...
s have linked the framing-effect to neural activity in the amygdala
Amygdala
The ' are almond-shaped groups of nuclei located deep within the medial temporal lobes of the brain in complex vertebrates, including humans. Shown in research to perform a primary role in the processing and memory of emotional reactions, the amygdalae are considered part of the limbic system.-...
, and have identified another brain-region, the orbital and medial prefrontal cortex
Prefrontal cortex
The prefrontal cortex is the anterior part of the frontal lobes of the brain, lying in front of the motor and premotor areas.This brain region has been implicated in planning complex cognitive behaviors, personality expression, decision making and moderating correct social behavior...
(OMPFC), that appears to moderate the role of emotion
Emotion
Emotion is a complex psychophysiological experience of an individual's state of mind as interacting with biochemical and environmental influences. In humans, emotion fundamentally involves "physiological arousal, expressive behaviors, and conscious experience." Emotion is associated with mood,...
on decisions. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging
Functional magnetic resonance imaging
Functional magnetic resonance imaging or functional MRI is a type of specialized MRI scan used to measure the hemodynamic response related to neural activity in the brain or spinal cord of humans or other animals. It is one of the most recently developed forms of neuroimaging...
(fMRI) to monitor brain-activity during a financial decision-making task, they observed greater activity in the OMPFC of those research subjects less susceptible to framing-effects.
Framing theory and frame analysis in sociology
Framing theory and frame analysis provide a broad theoretical approach that analysts have used in communication studiesCommunication studies
Communication Studies is an academic field that deals with processes of communication, commonly defined as the sharing of symbols over distances in space and time. Hence, communication studies encompasses a wide range of topics and contexts ranging from face-to-face conversation to speeches to mass...
, news
Journalism
Journalism is the practice of investigation and reporting of events, issues and trends to a broad audience in a timely fashion. Though there are many variations of journalism, the ideal is to inform the intended audience. Along with covering organizations and institutions such as government and...
(Johnson-Cartee, 1995), politics, and social movement
Social movement
Social movements are a type of group action. They are large informal groupings of individuals or organizations focused on specific political or social issues, in other words, on carrying out, resisting or undoing a social change....
s (among other applications).
According to some sociologists, the "social construction of collective action frames" involves "public discourse, that is, the interface of media discourse and interpersonal interaction; persuasive communication during mobilization campaigns by movement organizations, their opponents and countermovement organizations; and consciousness raising during episodes of collective action."
History
Word-selectionDiction
Diction , in its original, primary meaning, refers to the writer's or the speaker's distinctive vocabulary choices and style of expression in a poem or story...
or diction has been a component of rhetoric
Rhetoric
Rhetoric is the art of discourse, an art that aims to improve the facility of speakers or writers who attempt to inform, persuade, or motivate particular audiences in specific situations. As a subject of formal study and a productive civic practice, rhetoric has played a central role in the Western...
since time immemorial. But most commentators attribute the concept of framing to the work of Erving Goffman
Erving Goffman
Erving Goffman was a Canadian-born sociologist and writer.The 73rd president of American Sociological Association, Goffman's greatest contribution to social theory is his study of symbolic interaction in the form of dramaturgical perspective that began with his 1959 book The Presentation of Self...
and point especially to his 1974 book, Frame analysis: An essay on the organization of experience. Goffman used the idea of frames to label "schemata of interpretation" that allow individuals or groups "to locate, perceive, identify, and label" events and occurrences, thus rendering meaning, organizing experiences, and guiding actions.
Goffman's framing concept evolved out of his 1959 work, The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life
The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life
The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life is a seminal sociology book by Erving Goffman. It uses the imagery of the theatre in order to portray the importance of human – namely, social – action. The book was published in 1959. See dramaturgy for a detailed analysis.-Summary:In the center of the...
, a commentary on the management
Management
Management in all business and organizational activities is the act of getting people together to accomplish desired goals and objectives using available resources efficiently and effectively...
of impression
Impression
An impression is the overall effect of something.Impression may also refer to:* Material sciences, an indentation made by the pressure of an object into the surface of another object...
s. These works arguably depend on Kenneth Boulding's concept of image.
Social movements
Sociologists have utilized framing to explain the process of social movementSocial movement
Social movements are a type of group action. They are large informal groupings of individuals or organizations focused on specific political or social issues, in other words, on carrying out, resisting or undoing a social change....
s.
Movements act as carriers of beliefs and ideologies (compare meme
Meme
A meme is "an idea, behaviour or style that spreads from person to person within a culture."A meme acts as a unit for carrying cultural ideas, symbols or practices, which can be transmitted from one mind to another through writing, speech, gestures, rituals or other imitable phenomena...
s). In addition, they operate as part of the process of constructing meaning for participants and opposers (Snow & Benford, 1988). Sociologists deem mass-movements "successful" when the frames projected align with the frames of participants to produce resonance between the two parties. Researchers of framing speak of this process as frame re-alignment.
Frame-alignment
Snow and Benford (1988) regard frame-alignment as an important element in social mobilization or movement. They argue that when individual frames become linked in congruency and complementariness, "frame alignment" occurs,producing "frame resonance", a catalyst in the process of a group making the transition from one frame to another (although not all framing efforts prove successful). The conditions that affect or constrain framing efforts include:
- "The robustness, completeness, and thoroughness of the framing effort". Snow and Benford (1988) identify three core framing-tasks, and state that the degree to which framers attend to these tasks will determine participant mobilization. They characterize the three tasks as:
- diagnostic framing for the identification of a problem and assignment of blame
- prognostic framing to suggest solutions, strategies, and tactics to a problem
- motivational framing that serves as a call to arms or rationale for action
- The relationship between the proposed frame and the larger belief-systemBelief systemA belief system is a set of mutually supportive beliefs. The beliefs may be religious, philosophical, ideological or a combination of these.The British philosopher Stephen Law has described some belief systems as "claptrap" and said that they "draw people in and hold them captive so they become...
; centrality – the frame cannot be of low hierarchical significance and salience within the larger belief system. Its range and interrelatedness – if the framer links the frame to only one core belief or value that, in itself, has a limited range within the larger belief system, the frame has a high degree of being discounted. - Relevance of the frame to the realities of the participants; a frame must seem relevant to participants and must also inform them. Empirical credibility or testability can constrain relevancy: it relates to participant experience, and has narrative fidelity, meaning that it fits in with existing cultural myths and narrations.
- Cycles of protest (Tarrow 1983a; 1983b); the point at which the frame emerges on the timeline of the current era and existing preoccupations with social change. Previous frames may affect efforts to impose a new frame.
Snow and Benford (1988) propose that once someone has constructed proper frames as described above, large-scale changes in society such as those necessary for social movement can be achieved through frame-alignment.
Types
Frame-alignment comes in four forms,: frame bridging, frame amplification, frame extension and frame transformation.- Frame bridging involves the "linkage of two or more ideologically congruent but structurally unconnected frames regarding a particular issue or problem" (Snow et al., 1986, p. 467). It involves the linkage of a movement to "unmobilized [sicSicSic—generally inside square brackets, [sic], and occasionally parentheses, —when added just after a quote or reprinted text, indicates the passage appears exactly as in the original source...
] sentiment pools or public opinion preference clusters" (p. 467) of people who share similar views or grievances but who lack an organizational base. - Frame amplification refers to "the clarification and invigoration of an interpretive frame that bears on a particular issue, problem, or set of events" (Snow et al., 1986, p. 469). This interpretive frame usually involves the invigorating of values or beliefs.
- Frame extensions represent a movement's effort to incorporate participants by extending the boundaries of the proposed frame to include or encompass the views, interests, or sentiments of targeted groups.
- Frame transformation becomes necessary when the proposed frames "may not resonate with, and on occasion may even appear antithetical to, conventional lifestyles or rituals and extant interpretive frames" (Snow et al., 1986, p. 473).
When this happens, the securing of participants and support requires new values, new meanings and understandings. Goffman (1974, p. 43–44) calls this "keying", where "activities, events, and biographies that are already meaningful from the standpoint of some primary framework, in terms of another framework" (Snow et al., 1986, p. 474) such that they are seen differently. Two types of frame transformation exist:
- Domain-specific transformations, such as the attempt to alter the status of groups of people, and
- Global interpretive frame-transformation, where the scope of change seems quite radical—as in a change of world-viewsWorld viewA comprehensive world view is the fundamental cognitive orientation of an individual or society encompassing the entirety of the individual or society's knowledge and point-of-view, including natural philosophy; fundamental, existential, and normative postulates; or themes, values, emotions, and...
, total conversions of thought, or uprooting of everything familiar (for example: moving from communismCommunismCommunism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
to market capitalism; religious conversion, etc.).
Frame analysis as rhetorical criticism
Although the idea of language-framing had been explored earlier by Kenneth BurkeKenneth Burke
Kenneth Duva Burke was a major American literary theorist and philosopher. Burke's primary interests were in rhetoric and aesthetics.-Personal history:...
(i.e., terministic screens), political communication researcher Jim A. Kuypers
Jim A. Kuypers
Jim A. Kuypers is an American academic specializing in communication studies. A professor at Virginia Tech, he has written on the news media, rhetorical criticism and presidential rhetoric, and is particularly known for his work in political communication which explores the qualitative aspects of...
first published work advancing "framing analysis" as a rhetorical perspective in 1997. His approach begins inductively by looking for themes that persist across time in a text (for Kuypers, primarily news narratives on an issue or event), and then determining how those themes are framed. Kuypers’ work begins with the assumption that frames are powerful rhetorical entities that “induce us to filter our perceptions of the world in particular ways, essentially making some aspects of our multi-dimensional reality more noticeable than other aspects. They operate by making some information more salient than other information. . . .”
In his 2009 work, Rhetorical Criticism: Perspectives in Action Kuypers offers a detailed template for doing framing analysis from a rhetorical perspective. According Kuypers, "Framing is a process whereby communicators, consciously or unconsciously, act to construct a point of view that encourages the facts of a given situation to be interpreted by others in a particular manner. Frames operate in four key ways: they define problems, diagnose causes, make moral judgments, and suggest remedies. Frames are often found within a narrative account of an issue or event, and are generally the central organizing idea." Kuypers’ work is based on the premise that framing is a rhetorical process and as such it is best examined from a rhetorical point of view.
Episodic Framing vs. Thematic Framing
In his 1991 research, Shanto Iyengar proposed there are two types of framing, episodic and thematic.In episodic framing, the coverage focuses on a single event or instance and does not provide much background information on the subject. This leads the receiver of the frame to assume the individual is responsible. For example, on a story about healthcare, episodic framing would cause a viewer to believe that a person who gets sick but does not have health insurance was being irresponsible, when in fact there may have been other factors at play that the individual cannot control.
In thematic framing, the coverage puts the issue in a general or abstract context while providing a lot of background information. This leads to the frame receivers assuming society is at fault for all problems. Using the same healthcare example, thematic framing would cause television viewers to think that society is at fault for everyone who does not possess health insurance, when in fact in some cases people are irresponsible.
Framing vs. Other Media Effects
As researchers and theorists have built upon early definitions of framing toward operationalizing the concept, key differences in modern definitions have arisen, particularly in terms of placing framing in the context of other media effects, namely agenda settingAgenda-setting theory
Agenda-Setting Theory states that the news media have a large influence on audiences, in terms of what stories to consider newsworthy and how much prominence and space to give them. Agenda-setting theory’s main postulate is salience transfer. Salience transfer is the ability of the news media to...
. Proponents of accessibility vs. applicability models argue that the inclusion of framing under agenda-setting concepts leads to vague definitions that are difficult to study and characterize, while others argue that separating the concepts of agenda setting and framing creates definitions that are too specific.
Accessibility vs. applicability effects
Distinctions between framing and the concepts of agenda setting and priming have centered on specific mechanisms of each media effect.In particular, agenda setting is typically defined in terms of salience transfer, whereby the prevalence of an issue in news media determines the perceived importance of that issue in the eyes of the public. In this way, the accessibility or salience of the issue at the individual level is determined by the number of times that individual has been exposed to the issue, regardless of the way that issue is presented. The concept of priming
Priming (media)
Priming is a theory in which the activation of one thought may trigger related thoughts. The priming theory states that media images stimulate related thoughts in the minds of audience members...
extends from this definition, whereby the most salient/accessible issues in people’s minds are the most influential in their judgements of related topics.
In contrast to accessibility-based effects, framing effects are often distinguished as relying more on how information is presented, rather than being determined by message prevalence. Moreover, the goal of framing is to selectively activate, or apply, particular cognitive schema in the minds of the audience as a way of influencing how the presented information is understood and evaluated.
Framing as an extension of agenda setting
In contrast to the accessibility versus applicability distinctions between framing and agenda setting, other scholars seek to merge agenda setting, priming, and framing within a single conceptual framework of agenda setting and agenda-setting effects.Some arguments for a unified concept posit that agenda-setting effects are more complex; that prevalence may affect understanding and/or that frames may affect salience. McCombs argues that “The news not only tells us what to think about; it also tells us how to think about it.”
Similarly, some research groups place framing under the definition of second level agenda setting. First level agenda setting determines issue importance, while second level agenda setting draws on repeated discussion of specific issue attributes. For these definitions, framing is equated to second level agenda setting.
Politics
Framing a political issue, a political party or a political opponent is a strategicStrategy
Strategy, a word of military origin, refers to a plan of action designed to achieve a particular goal. In military usage strategy is distinct from tactics, which are concerned with the conduct of an engagement, while strategy is concerned with how different engagements are linked...
goal in politics
Politics
Politics is a process by which groups of people make collective decisions. The term is generally applied to the art or science of running governmental or state affairs, including behavior within civil governments, but also applies to institutions, fields, and special interest groups such as the...
, particularly in the United States of America. Both the Democratic
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
and Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
political parties compete to successfully harness its power of persuasion. According to the New York Times:
Because framing has the ability to alter the public’s perception, politicians engage in battles to determine how issues are framed. Hence, the way the issues are framed in the media reflects who is winning the battle. For instance, according to Robert Entman, professor of Communication at George Washington University, in the build-up to the Gulf War the conservatives were successful in making the debate whether to attack sooner or later, with no mention of the possibility of not attacking. Since the media picked up on this and also framed the debate in this fashion, the conservatives won.
George Lakoff
George Lakoff
George P. Lakoff is an American cognitive linguist and professor of linguistics at the University of California, Berkeley, where he has taught since 1972...
, a Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
professor of cognitive linguistics
Cognitive linguistics
In linguistics, cognitive linguistics refers to the branch of linguistics that interprets language in terms of the concepts, sometimes universal, sometimes specific to a particular tongue, which underlie its forms...
, has been a prominent voice in discussing the effects of framing on politics.
One particular example of Lakoff's work that attained some degree of fame was his advice to rename trial lawyers (unpopular in the United States) as "public protection attorneys". Though Americans have not generally adopted this suggestion, the Association of Trial Lawyers of America
Association of Trial Lawyers of America
The American Association for Justice , formerly the Association of Trial Lawyers of America is the leading organization for lawyers representing plaintiffs in the United States...
did rename themselves the "American Association of Justice", in what the Chamber of Commerce
Chamber of commerce
A chamber of commerce is a form of business network, e.g., a local organization of businesses whose goal is to further the interests of businesses. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to advocate on behalf of the business community...
called an effort to hide their identity.
The New York Times depicted similar intensity among Republicans:
From a political perspective, framing has widespread consequences. For example, the concept of framing links with that of agenda-setting: by consistently invoking a particular frame, the framing party may effectively control discussion and perception of the issue. Sheldon Rampton
Sheldon Rampton
Sheldon Rampton was the American editor of PR Watch, and is the author of several books that criticize the public relations industry and what he sees as other forms of corporate and government propaganda....
and John Stauber
John Stauber
John Stauber is an American writer and political activist who has co-authored five books about propaganda by governments, private interests and the PR industry...
in Trust Us, We're Experts
Trust Us, We're Experts
Trust Us, We're Experts: How Industry Manipulates Science and Gambles with Your Future is a book written by Sheldon Rampton and John Stauber....
illustrate how public-relations
Public relations
Public relations is the actions of a corporation, store, government, individual, etc., in promoting goodwill between itself and the public, the community, employees, customers, etc....
(PR) firms often use language to help frame a given issue, structuring the questions that then subsequently emerge. For example, one firm advises clients to use "bridging language" that uses a strategy of answering questions with specific terms or ideas in order to shift the discourse from an uncomfortable topic to a more comfortable one.
Practitioners of this strategy might attempt to draw attention away from one frame in order to focus on another. As Lakoff notes, "On the day that George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
took office, the words "tax relief" started coming out of the White House."
By refocusing the structure away from one frame ("tax burden" or "tax responsibilities"), individuals can set the agenda of the questions asked in the future.
Cognitive linguists
Cognitive linguistics
In linguistics, cognitive linguistics refers to the branch of linguistics that interprets language in terms of the concepts, sometimes universal, sometimes specific to a particular tongue, which underlie its forms...
point to an example of framing in the phrase "tax relief
Tax cut
A tax cut is a reduction in taxes. The immediate effects of a tax cut are a decrease in the real income of the government and an increase in the real income of those whose tax rate has been lowered. Due to the perceived benefit in growing real incomes among tax payers politicians have sought to...
". In this frame, use of the concept "relief" entails a concept of (without mentioning the benefits resulting from) taxes putting strain on the citizen:
Alternative frames may emphasize the concept of taxes as a source of infrastructural support to businesses:
Frames can limit debate by setting the vocabulary and metaphor
Metaphor
A metaphor is a literary figure of speech that uses an image, story or tangible thing to represent a less tangible thing or some intangible quality or idea; e.g., "Her eyes were glistening jewels." Metaphor may also be used for any rhetorical figures of speech that achieve their effects via...
s through which participants can comprehend and discuss an issue. They form a part not just of political discourse, but of cognition
Cognition
In science, cognition refers to mental processes. These processes include attention, remembering, producing and understanding language, solving problems, and making decisions. Cognition is studied in various disciplines such as psychology, philosophy, linguistics, and computer science...
. In addition to generating new frames, politically-oriented framing research aims to increase public awareness of the connection between framing and reasoning.
Examples
- The initial response of the Bush administrationGeorge W. Bush administrationThe presidency of George W. Bush began on January 20, 2001, when he was inaugurated as the 43rd President of the United States of America. The oldest son of former president George H. W. Bush, George W...
to the assault of September 11, 2001September 11, 2001 attacksThe September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks (also referred to as September 11, September 11th or 9/119/11 is pronounced "nine eleven". The slash is not part of the pronunciation...
was to frame the acts of terror as crimeCrimeCrime is the breach of rules or laws for which some governing authority can ultimately prescribe a conviction...
. This framing was replaced within hours by a war metaphor, yielding the "War on TerrorWar on TerrorismThe War on Terror is a term commonly applied to an international military campaign led by the United States and the United Kingdom with the support of other North Atlantic Treaty Organisation as well as non-NATO countries...
". The difference between these two framings is in the implied response. Crime connotes bringing criminals to justice, putting them on trial and sentencing them, whereas as warWarWar is a state of organized, armed, and often prolonged conflict carried on between states, nations, or other parties typified by extreme aggression, social disruption, and usually high mortality. War should be understood as an actual, intentional and widespread armed conflict between political...
implies enemy territory, military action and war powers for government. popularization of the term "escalation" to describe an increase in American troop-levels in IraqIraqIraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
. This implies that the United States has deliberately increased the scope of conflict in a provocative manner. It also implies that U.S. strategy entails a long-term military presence in Iraq, whereas "surge"Iraq War troop surge of 2007In the context of the Iraq War, the surge refers to United States President George W. Bush's 2007 increase in the number of American troops in order to provide security to Baghdad and Al Anbar Province....
framing implies a powerful but brief, transitory increase in intensity. - The "bad apple" frame, as in the proverb "one bad appleAppleThe apple is the pomaceous fruit of the apple tree, species Malus domestica in the rose family . It is one of the most widely cultivated tree fruits, and the most widely known of the many members of genus Malus that are used by humans. Apple grow on small, deciduous trees that blossom in the spring...
spoils the barrel". This frame implies that removing one underachieving or corrupt official from an institutionInstitutionAn institution is any structure or mechanism of social order and cooperation governing the behavior of a set of individuals within a given human community...
will solve a given problem; an opposing frame presents the same problem as systematic or structural to the institution itself—a source of infectious and spreading rot. - The "taxpayers moneyTaxpayers moneyThe term Taxpayers money can refer to:1. Monies held by individuals or businesses that are taxpayers.2. Money held by government sourced from taxpayers....
" frame, rather than public or government fundsGovernment spendingGovernment spending includes all government consumption, investment but excludes transfer payments made by a state. Government acquisition of goods and services for current use to directly satisfy individual or collective needs of the members of the community is classed as government final...
which implies that individual taxpayers have a claim or right to set government policy based upon their payment of tax rather than their status as citizens or voters and that taxpayers have a right to control public funds that are the shared property of all citizens and also privileges individual self interest above group interest. - The "collective property" frame, which implies that property owned by individuals is really owned by a collective in which those individuals are members. This collective can be a territorial one, such as a nation, or an abstract one that does not map to a specific territory.
- Program-names that may only describe the intended effects of a program but can also imply their effectiveness. These include:
- "Foreign aid" (which implies that spending money will aid foreigners, rather than harm them)
- "Social securitySocial securitySocial security is primarily a social insurance program providing social protection or protection against socially recognized conditions, including poverty, old age, disability, unemployment and others. Social security may refer to:...
" (which implies that the program can be relied on to provide security for a society) - "Stabilisation policyStabilisation policyA stabilization policy is a package or set of measures introduced to stabilize a financial system or economy.The term can refer to policies in two distinct sets of circumstances: business cycle stabilization and crisis stabilization....
" (which implies that a policy will have a stabilizing effect).
- Based on opinion polling and focus groupFocus groupA focus group is a form of qualitative research in which a group of people are asked about their perceptions, opinions, beliefs and attitudes towards a product, service, concept, advertisement, idea, or packaging...
s, ecoAmerica, a nonprofit environmental marketing and messaging firm, has advanced the position that global warmingGlobal warmingGlobal warming refers to the rising average temperature of Earth's atmosphere and oceans and its projected continuation. In the last 100 years, Earth's average surface temperature increased by about with about two thirds of the increase occurring over just the last three decades...
is an ineffective framing due to its identification as a leftist advocacy issue. The organization has suggested to government officials and environmental groups that alternate formulations of the issues would be more effective. - In her 2009 book Frames of War, Judith ButlerJudith ButlerJudith Butler is an American post-structuralist philosopher, who has contributed to the fields of feminism, queer theory, political philosophy, and ethics. She is a professor in the Rhetoric and Comparative Literature departments at the University of California, Berkeley.Butler received her Ph.D...
argues that the justification within liberal-democracies for war, and atrocities committed in the course of war, (referring specifically to the current war in Iraq and to Abu GhraibAbu Ghraib torture and prisoner abuseBeginning in 2004, human rights violations in the form of physical, psychological, and sexual abuse, including torture, rape, sodomy, and homicide of prisoners held in the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq came to public attention...
and Guantanamo Bay) entails a framing of the (especially Muslim) 'other' as pre-modern/primitive and ultimately not human in the same way as citizens within the liberal order.
Finance
Preference reversals and other associated phenomena are of wider relevance within behavioural economics, as they contradict the predictions of rational choice, the basis of traditional economics. Framing biases affecting investing, lending, borrowing decisions make one of the themes of behavioral financeBehavioral finance
Behavioral economics and its related area of study, behavioral finance, use social, cognitive and emotional factors in understanding the economic decisions of individuals and institutions performing economic functions, including consumers, borrowers and investors, and their effects on market...
.
Law
Edward Zelinsky has shown that framing effects can explain some observed behaviors of legislators.See also
- Anecdotal ValueAnecdotal valueIn economics, anecdotal value refers to the primarily social and political value of an anecdote or anecdotal evidence in promoting understanding of a social, cultural, or economic phenomenon...
- Argumentation theoryArgumentation theoryArgumentation theory, or argumentation, is the interdisciplinary study of how humans should, can, and do reach conclusions through logical reasoning, that is, claims based, soundly or not, on premises. It includes the arts and sciences of civil debate, dialogue, conversation, and persuasion...
- BiasBiasBias is an inclination to present or hold a partial perspective at the expense of alternatives. Bias can come in many forms.-In judgement and decision making:...
- Choice architectureChoice architectureChoice architecture describes the way in which decisions are influenced by how the choices are presented , and is a term used by Cass Sunstein and economist Richard Thaler in the 2008 book Nudge: Improving Decisions about Health, Wealth, and Happiness...
- Code word (figure of speech)Code word (figure of speech)A code word is a word or a phrase designed to convey a predetermined meaning to a receptive audience, while remaining inconspicuous to the uninitiated.- Medical :...
- Communication theoryCommunication theoryCommunication theory is a field of information and mathematics that studies the technical process of information and the human process of human communication.- History :- Origins :...
- ConnotationConnotationA connotation is a commonly understood subjective cultural or emotional association that some word or phrase carries, in addition to the word's or phrase's explicit or literal meaning, which is its denotation....
- Decision makingDecision makingDecision making can be regarded as the mental processes resulting in the selection of a course of action among several alternative scenarios. Every decision making process produces a final choice. The output can be an action or an opinion of choice.- Overview :Human performance in decision terms...
- Demagoguery
- Domain of discourseDomain of discourseIn the formal sciences, the domain of discourse, also called the universe of discourse , is the set of entities over which certain variables of interest in some formal treatment may range...
- Fallacy of many questionsFallacy of many questionsA loaded question is a question which contains a controversial assumption such as a presumption of guilt.Such questions are used rhetorically, so that the question limits direct replies to be those that serve the questioner's agenda...
- Figure of speechFigure of speechA figure of speech is the use of a word or words diverging from its usual meaning. It can also be a special repetition, arrangement or omission of words with literal meaning, or a phrase with a specialized meaning not based on the literal meaning of the words in it, as in idiom, metaphor, simile,...
- Framing (economics)
- Framing effect (psychology)Framing effect (psychology)The framing effect, one of the cognitive biases, describes that presenting the same option in different formats can alter people's decisions. Specifically, individuals have a tendency to select inconsistent choices, depending on whether the question is framed to concentrate on losses or gains...
- Freedom of speechFreedom of speechFreedom of speech is the freedom to speak freely without censorship. The term freedom of expression is sometimes used synonymously, but includes any act of seeking, receiving and imparting information or ideas, regardless of the medium used...
- Free pressFreedom of the pressFreedom of the press or freedom of the media is the freedom of communication and expression through vehicles including various electronic media and published materials...
- Fuzzy-trace theoryFuzzy-trace theoryFuzzy-Trace Theory is a theory that is used in several different areas of psychology, such as cognitive, developmental and social psychology. FTT is a theory of memory and cognition with broad ramifications for the study of judgment and decision-making and two decades of empirical support...
- JournalismJournalismJournalism is the practice of investigation and reporting of events, issues and trends to a broad audience in a timely fashion. Though there are many variations of journalism, the ideal is to inform the intended audience. Along with covering organizations and institutions such as government and...
- Language and thoughtLanguage and thoughtA variety of different authors, theories and fields purport influences between language and thought.Many point out the seemingly common-sense realization that upon introspection we seem to think in the language we speak...
- MemeMemeA meme is "an idea, behaviour or style that spreads from person to person within a culture."A meme acts as a unit for carrying cultural ideas, symbols or practices, which can be transmitted from one mind to another through writing, speech, gestures, rituals or other imitable phenomena...
- NewspeakNewspeakNewspeak is a fictional language in George Orwell's novel Nineteen Eighty-Four. In the novel, it refers to the deliberately impoverished language promoted by the state. Orwell included an essay about it in the form of an appendix in which the basic principles of the language are explained...
- Political CorrectnessPolitical correctnessPolitical correctness is a term which denotes language, ideas, policies, and behavior seen as seeking to minimize social and institutional offense in occupational, gender, racial, cultural, sexual orientation, certain other religions, beliefs or ideologies, disability, and age-related contexts,...
- Power word
- Rhetorical deviceRhetorical deviceIn rhetoric, a rhetorical device or resource of language is a technique that an author or speaker uses to convey to the listener or reader a meaning with the goal of persuading him or her towards considering a topic from a different perspective. While rhetorical devices may be used to evoke an...
- SemanticsSemanticsSemantics is the study of meaning. It focuses on the relation between signifiers, such as words, phrases, signs and symbols, and what they stand for, their denotata....
- Semantic domainSemantic domainSemantics is a term that refers to how meaning is assigned in language . A domain is essentially a specific place or territory . A semantic domain is a specific place that shares a set of meanings, or a language that holds its meaning, within the given context of the place...
- SophismSophismSophism in the modern definition is a specious argument used for deceiving someone. In ancient Greece, sophists were a category of teachers who specialized in using the tools of philosophy and rhetoric for the purpose of teaching aretê — excellence, or virtue — predominantly to young statesmen and...
- Spin doctor
- StovepipingStovepipingStovepiping is a metaphorical term which recalls a stovepipe's function as an isolated vertical conduit, and has been used, in the context of intelligence, to describe several ways in which raw intelligence information may be presented without proper context...
- Thought Reform (book)
- Trope
- Unspeak (book)
- Virtue wordVirtue wordA virtue word tends to invoke a positive image when placed in the appropriate context. This can be used for the purposes of positive commentary or description in marketing and propaganda....
- Frame analysisFrame analysisFrame analysis is a multi-disciplinary social science research method used to analyze how people understand situations and activities...
Further reading
- Baars, BBernard BaarsBernard J. Baars is a former Senior Fellow in Theoretical Neurobiology at The Neurosciences Institute in La Jolla, CA., and is currently an Affiliated Fellow there. He is best known as the originator of the global workspace theory, a theory of human cognitive architecture and consciousness...
. A cognitive theory of consciousness, NY: Cambridge University PressCambridge University PressCambridge University Press is the publishing business of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by Henry VIII in 1534, it is the world's oldest publishing house, and the second largest university press in the world...
1988, ISBN 0-521-30133-5. - Boulding, Kenneth E.Kenneth E. BouldingKenneth Ewart Boulding was an economist, educator, peace activist, poet, religious mystic, devoted Quaker, systems scientist, and interdisciplinary philosopher. He was cofounder of General Systems Theory and founder of numerous ongoing intellectual projects in economics and social science. He was...
(1956). The Image: Knowledge in Life and Society. Michigan University Press. - Carruthers, P.Peter Carruthers (philosopher)Peter Carruthers is a philosopher in the area of philosophy of mind. He is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Maryland, associate member of and member of the -Background:...
(2003), On Fodor's Problem, Mind and Language, vol. 18(5), pp. 502–523. - Clark, A. (1997), Being There: Putting Brain, Body, and World Together Again, Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
- Cutting, Hunter and Makani Themba Nixon (2006). Talking the Walk: A Communications Guide for Racial Justice: AK Press
- Dennett, D.Daniel DennettDaniel Clement Dennett is an American philosopher, writer and cognitive scientist whose research centers on the philosophy of mind, philosophy of science and philosophy of biology, particularly as those fields relate to evolutionary biology and cognitive science. He is currently the Co-director of...
(1978), Brainstorms, Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. - Fairhurst, Gail T. and Sarr, Robert A. 1996. The Art of Framing: Managing the Language of Leadership. USA: Jossey-Bass, Inc.
- Feldman, Jeffrey. (2007), Framing the Debate: Famous Presidential Speeches and How Progressives Can Use Them to Control the Conversation (and Win Elections). Brooklyn, NY: Ig Publishing.
- Fodor, J.A.Jerry FodorJerry Alan Fodor is an American philosopher and cognitive scientist. He holds the position of State of New Jersey Professor of Philosophy at Rutgers University and is the author of many works in the fields of philosophy of mind and cognitive science, in which he has laid the groundwork for the...
(1983), The Modularity of Mind, Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. - Fodor, J.A. (1987), "Modules, Frames, Fridgeons, Sleeping Dogs, and the Music of the Spheres", in Pylyshyn (1987).
- Fodor, J.A. (2000), The Mind Doesn't Work That Way, Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
- Ford, K.M. & Hayes, P.J. (eds.) (1991), Reasoning Agents in a Dynamic World: The Frame Problem, New York: JAI Press.
- Goffman, ErvingErving GoffmanErving Goffman was a Canadian-born sociologist and writer.The 73rd president of American Sociological Association, Goffman's greatest contribution to social theory is his study of symbolic interaction in the form of dramaturgical perspective that began with his 1959 book The Presentation of Self...
. 1974. Frame Analysis: An Essay on the Organization of Experience. London: Harper and Row. - Goffman, E. (1974). Frame Analysis. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
- Goffman, E. (1959). Presentation of Self in Everyday Life. New York: Doubleday.
- Goodman, N. (1954), Fact, Fiction, and Forecast, Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
- Hanks, S. & McDermott, D. (1987), "Nonmonotonic Logic and Temporal Projection", Artificial Intelligence, vol. 33(3), pp. 379–412.
- Haselager, W.F.G. (1997). Cognitive science and folk psychology: the right frame of mind. London: Sage
- Haselager, W.F.G. & Van Rappard, J.F.H. (1998), "Connectionism, Systematicity, and the Frame Problem", Minds and Machines, vol. 8(2), pp. 161–179.
- Hayes, P.J. (1991), "Artificial Intelligence Meets David Hume: A Reply to Fetzer", in Ford & Hayes (1991).
- Heal, J. (1996), "Simulation, Theory, and Content", in Theories of Theories of Mind, eds. P. Carruthers & P. Smith, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 75–89.
- Johnson-Cartee, K. (2005). News narrative and news framing: Constructing political reality. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.
- Kendall, Diana, Sociology In Our Times, Thomson Wadsworth, 2005, ISBN 0-534-64629-8 Google Print, p.531
- Klandermans, Bert. 1997. The Social Psychology of Protest. Oxford: Blackwell.
- Lakoff, G.George LakoffGeorge P. Lakoff is an American cognitive linguist and professor of linguistics at the University of California, Berkeley, where he has taught since 1972...
& Johnson, M. (1980), Metaphors We Live By, Chicago: University of Chicago Press. - Leites, N. & Wolf, C., Jr. (1970). Rebellion and authority. Chicago: Markham Publishing Company.
- De Martino et al., 2006. "Frames, Biases, and Rational Decision-Making in the Human Brain". Science 313: 684-687.
- McAdam, D., McCarthy, J., & Zald, M. (1996). Introduction: Opportunities, Mobilizing Structures, and Framing Processes—Toward a Synthetic, Comparative Perspective on Social Movements. In D. McAdam, J. McCarthy & M. Zald (Eds.), Comparative Perspectives on Social Movements; Political Opportunities, Mobilizing Structures, and Cultural Framings (pp. 1–20). New York: Cambridge University Press.
- McCarthy, J. (1986), "Applications of Circumscription to Formalizing Common Sense Knowledge", Artificial IntelligenceArtificial Intelligence (journal)Artificial Intelligence is a scientific journal on artificial intelligence research. It was established in 1970 and is published by Elsevier. The journal is abstracted and indexed in Scopus and Science Citation Index. The 2009 Impact Factor for this journal is 3.036 and the 5-Year Impact Factor is...
, vol. 26(3), pp. 89–116. - McCarthy, J. & Hayes, P.J. (1969), "Some Philosophical Problems from the Standpoint of Artificial Intelligence", in Machine Intelligence 4, ed. D.Michie and B.Meltzer, Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, pp. 463–502.
- McDermott, D. (1987), "We've Been Framed: Or Why AI Is Innocent of the Frame Problem", in Pylyshyn (1987).
- Mithen, S. (1987), The Prehistory of the Mind, London: Thames & Hudson.
- Nelson, T. E., Oxley, Z. M., & Clawson, R. A. (1997). Toward a psychology of framing effects. Political Behavior, 19(3), 221–246.
- Pan, Z. & Kosicki, G. M. (1993). Framing analysis: An approach to news discourse. Political Communication, 10(1), 55-75.
- Pan. Z. & Kosicki, G. M. (2001). Framing as a strategic action in public deliberation. In S. D. Reese, O. H. Gandy, Jr., & A. E. Grant (Eds.), Framing public life: Perspectives on media and our understanding of the social world, (pp. 35–66). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
- Pylyshyn, Zenon W.Zenon PylyshynZenon Pylyshyn is a Canadian cognitive scientist and philosopher.He holds degrees in Engineering-Physics from McGill University and in Control Systems and Experimental Psychology , both from the University of Saskatchewan. His dissertation was on the application of information theory to studies...
(ed.) (1987), The Robot's Dilemma: The Frame Problem in Artificial Intelligence, Norwood, NJ: Ablex. - Stephen D. Reese, Oscar H. Gandy and August E. Grant. (2001). Framing Public Life: Perspectives on Media and Our Understanding of the Social World. Maywah, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum. ISBN 978-0-805-83653-0
- Russell, S. & Wefald, E. (1991), Do the Right Thing: Studies in Limited Rationality, Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
- Scheufele, Dietram A. 1999. Framing as a theory of media effects. Journal of Communication, 49(1), 103–122.
- Shanahan, Murray P. (1997), Solving the Frame Problem: A Mathematical Investigation of the Common Sense Law of Inertia, Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. ISBN 0262193841
- Shanahan, Murray P. (2003), "The Frame Problem", in The Macmillan Encyclopedia of Cognitive Science, ed. L.Nadel, Macmillan, pp. 144–150.
- Simon, HerbertHerbert SimonHerbert Alexander Simon was an American political scientist, economist, sociologist, and psychologist, and professor—most notably at Carnegie Mellon University—whose research ranged across the fields of cognitive psychology, cognitive science, computer science, public administration, economics,...
(1957), Models of Man, Social and Rational: Mathematical Essays on Rational Human Behavior in a Social Setting, New York: John Wiley. - Snow, D. A., & Benford, R. D. (1988). "Ideology, frame resonance, and participant mobilization". International Social Movement Research, 1, 197–217.
- Snow, D. A., Rochford, E. B., Worden, S. K., & Benford, R. D. (1986). "Frame alignment processes, micromobilization, and movement participation". American Sociological Review, 51, 464–481.
- Sperber, D. & Wilson, D. (1996), "Fodor's Frame Problem and Relevance Theory", Behavioral and Brain Sciences, vol. 19(3), pp. 530–532.
- Tarrow, S.Sidney TarrowSidney G. Tarrow is a professor of political science and sociology, known for his research in the areas of comparative politics, social movements, political parties, collective action and political sociology.-Biography:...
(1983a). "Struggling to Reform: social Movements and policy change during cycles of protest". Western Societies Paper No. 15. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University. - Tarrow, S. (1983b). "Resource mobilization and cycles of protest: Theoretical reflections and comparative illustrations". Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Sociological AssociationAmerican Sociological AssociationThe American Sociological Association , founded in 1905 as the American Sociological Society , is a non-profit organization dedicated to advancing the discipline and profession of sociology by serving sociologists in their work and promoting their contributions to serve society.The ASA holds its...
, Detroit, August 31–September 4. - Triandafyllidou, A. and Fotiou, A. (1998), "Sustainability and Modernity in the European Union: A Frame Theory Approach to Policy-Making", Sociological Research Online, vol. 3, no. 1.
- Tilly, C.Charles TillyCharles Tilly was an American sociologist, political scientist, and historian who wrote on the relationship between politics and society. He was the Joseph L. Buttenwieser Professor of Social Science at Columbia University....
, Tilly, L., & Tilly, R. (1975). The rebellious century, 1830–1930. Cambridge, MA: Cambridge University Press. - Turner, R. H., & Killian, L. M. (1972). Collective Behavior. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
- "Rational Choice and the Framing of Decisions", A.Tversky, D.Kahneman, Journal of Business, 1986, vol.59, no.4, pt.2.
- Wilkerson, W.S. (2001), "Simulation, Theory, and the Frame Problem", Philosophical PsychologyPhilosophical Psychology (journal)Philosophical Psychology is a peer-reviewed academic journal devoted to the links between philosophy and psychology.-Notable articles:The following is a partial list of some of the most notable articles :...
, vol. 14(2), pp. 141–153. - Willard, Charles ArthurCharles Arthur WillardCharles Arthur Willard is an American argumentation and rhetorical theorist.He received his doctorate at the University of Illinois, Urbana, USA, in 1972. From 1974 to 1982 he was the Director of Forensics at Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire . He has lectured in Austria, Canada, France,...
. Liberalism and the Social Grounds of Knowledge Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 199
External links
- The Framing Wars. New York Times 17 July 2005
- Curry, Tom. 2005. "Frist chills talk of judges deal (Page 2)." The question in the poll was not framed as a matter of whether nominee ought to get an up-or-down vote. And that framing of the issue, Republican strategists believe, is the most advantageous one... MSNBCMSNBCMSNBC is a cable news channel based in the United States available in the US, Germany , South Africa, the Middle East and Canada...
- CMU.edu (pdf) - 'The Framing effect and risky decision: Examining cognitive functions with fMRI', C. Gonzalez, et al., Journal of Economic Psychology (2005)
- HBS.edu - 'Fixing Price Tag Confusion'(interview), Sean Silverthorne (December 11, 2006)
- "'Framing effect' influences decisions: Emotions play a role in decision-making when information is too complex", Charles Q. Choi, MSNBCMSNBCMSNBC is a cable news channel based in the United States available in the US, Germany , South Africa, the Middle East and Canada...
(August 3, 2006)