Framing Effects in Political Communication
What Is a Frame?
A frame is a way of presenting or interpreting information that emphasizes certain aspects while downplaying others, which shapes how people understand and evaluate an issue.
The Expectancy-Value Model (Foundation)
People form political opinions by:
- Evaluating expected outcomes of a policy
- Weighing how much they care about those outcomes
Example: Someone might understand environmental risks but still not support climate policy if they don’t personally care about environmental issues.
Limitations of This Model:
- Most people don’t have well-formed opinions on political issues
- They have few organized thoughts about complex policies
- This creates opportunities for framing to shape opinion
Three Related but Distinct Concepts
| Concept | Mechanism | What Changes |
|---|---|---|
| Framing | Affects the weight of considerations | How much you care about certain aspects |
| Priming | Increases accessibility of thoughts | What comes to mind when thinking about an issue |
| Persuasion | Changes the evaluation itself | Your actual opinion on the matter |
Example:
- Framing: “Climate policy” framed as “green jobs” makes economic benefits more important to you
- Priming: Mentioning crime before asking about immigration makes you think about safety
- Persuasion: Providing evidence that changes your mind about whether policy X works
Two Perspectives on Frames
1. Frame in Mind (Cognitive)
- Mental structures people use to organize and interpret information
- Like a lens through which you view issues
- Can be activated by communication
2. Frame in Communication (Strategic)
- How elites (media, politicians) present information
- Purpose: Give meaning to unfolding events and shape how people interpret facts
- Key insight: The same facts can be presented very differently
How to Study Framing (Research Process)
Researchers face challenges because there’s no single “correct” method. The typical approach:
- Identify the issue or event
- Frames exist in relation to specific topics (healthcare, immigration, etc.)
- Isolate a specific attitude
- What opinion are you measuring? (support for policy, candidate evaluation, etc.)
- Identify initial frames
- Gather frames from previous research, media analysis, or pilot studies
- Look at how the issue is actually being discussed in public
- Select sources
- Where will you look for frames? (news media, political speeches, social media)
- Who is doing the framing? (politicians, journalists, activists)
How Strong Are Framing Effects?
Short answer: Hard to say definitively—it depends on context.
Three Approaches to Measuring Strength:
- Compare across frames
- Show people different frames of the same issue
- Measure how much opinions shift between frames
- Challenge: Difficult to know if frames are equally strong
- Compare framed preferences to personal values
- Do frames lead people to opinions that align with their core values?
- Or do frames override values temporarily?
- Insight: Strong frames can make people support policies that contradict their values
- Compare treatment groups to control group
- Show some people a frame, others no frame
- Challenge: Nearly impossible to create a “frameless” control in real politics
- Everything is framed somehow
How Framing Effects Work (Mechanisms)
Frames influence opinion through three pathways:
1. Creating New Beliefs
- Introduces considerations people hadn’t thought about
- Example: Framing healthcare as “freedom to choose doctors” creates new belief about autonomy
2. Making Certain Beliefs More Accessible
- Brings existing beliefs to the front of people’s minds
- Example: Mentioning “tax burden” makes cost considerations more salient
3. Making Existing Beliefs Stronger
- Reinforces beliefs people already held weakly
- Example: Repeated “tough on crime” framing strengthens law-and-order attitudes
Mediation Question:
Do framing effects require people to have pre-existing beliefs to work with?
- Generally yes: Frames connect to values and beliefs people already have
- But frames can also introduce entirely new considerations
When Do People Consciously Evaluate Frames?
Most of the time, frames work automatically without conscious thought. But people evaluate frames more carefully when:
1. They’re Motivated
- High personal relevance
- Strong prior interest in the issue
- Consequences matter to them
2. Opposing Frames Are Present
- Key insight: Exposure to competing frames increases motivation to think carefully
- Forces people to deliberate and reconcile different interpretations
- Result: Less susceptible to any single frame
Example: If you only hear “tax relief,” you accept it. If you hear both “tax relief” and “tax cuts for the wealthy,” you think more critically about both.
What Makes Framing Effects Stronger or Weaker? (Moderators)
1. Predispositions and Values
- Strong prior beliefs = more resistant to framing
- Weak or ambivalent beliefs = more susceptible to framing
- People with strong partisan identity harder to sway
2. Intelligence and Knowledge (Paradoxical Effect!)
This is counterintuitive:
| Knowledge Level | Susceptibility | Why? |
|---|---|---|
| Low knowledge | High susceptibility | Lack information to resist frames |
| Moderate knowledge | Lower susceptibility | Enough info to be somewhat critical |
| High knowledge | High susceptibility | Sophisticated enough to rationalize frame’s logic |
The paradox: Very knowledgeable people can be persuaded by sophisticated frames because they understand the arguments better and can integrate them into complex reasoning.
Two Main Types of Frames
1. Equivalency Frames (Valence Framing)
Present logically equivalent information in positive vs. negative terms
Classic examples:
- “90% survival rate” vs. “10% mortality rate”
- “Glass half full” vs. “Glass half empty”
- “Tax relief” vs. “Revenue loss”
Effect: Changes emotional response even though facts are identical
2. Emphasis Frames (Issue Framing)
Highlight different aspects of a multifaceted issue
Examples:
| Issue | Frame A | Frame B |
|---|---|---|
| Immigration | Economic contribution | Cultural integration challenges |
| Free speech | Democratic principle | Potential for harm |
| Climate policy | Green jobs | Economic costs |
Effect: Makes certain considerations more important in people’s judgments
What Makes a Frame Strong?
A strong frame:
- Connects the proposal to widely shared positive values or goals
- Resonates with cultural beliefs
- Simple and memorable
- Emotionally compelling
Examples of strong frames:
- “Freedom” (connects to American values)
- “Protecting our children” (universal parental concern)
- “Fairness” (widely shared principle)
Critical Caveat: Context-Dependency
- A frame that works in one context may fail in another
- Geographic differences (urban vs. rural)
- Temporal differences (peacetime vs. wartime)
- Audience differences (liberals vs. conservatives)
Example: “Individual freedom” frame works well with conservatives but may be less effective with liberals who value collective responsibility.
How Do Frames Originate?
Honest answer: We don’t fully understand frame formation.
Entman’s Cascade Model (Best Theory We Have)
Frames flow through society in a hierarchical cascade:
Administration/Political Elites
↓
News Media
↓
Public
How it works:
- Political elites (presidents, party leaders) introduce frames strategically
- Media adopts, adapts, or challenges these frames
- Public receives and potentially accepts frames
Strategic motivation:
- Politicians frame issues to make their positions sound better
- They exploit cognitive heuristics (mental shortcuts):
- Availability heuristic (what comes to mind easily)
- Representativeness heuristic (stereotypes)
- Loss aversion (fear of losses > desire for gains)
Example of cascade:
- President frames policy as “protecting American jobs”
- Media headlines use “job protection” language
- Public discussion centers on employment rather than other aspects
Complications:
- Social media disrupts traditional cascade
- Multiple competing elites create frame contests
- Media doesn’t always passively transmit frames