Framing and Public Opinion Essay ⋆ Political Science Essay Examples ⋆ EssayEmpire

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Frames are discursive cues, found throughout the communication process, that emphasize a particular interpretation of an issue or event. Frames initially appear in a speaker’s mind as conscious or unconscious decisions are made about how to present an issue to the public. The speaker then expresses the frame in text (e.g., article, speech) by using language that reinforces the selected interpretation. For example, a newspaper article might frame the offshore oil drilling debate by emphasizing environmental concerns or energy needs. Frames are also used by individuals to structure their comprehension and interpretation of issues. Someone who thinks about the environment when evaluating offshore drilling would be thinking through an environmental frame of mind. Finally, frames can be found more broadly at the societal level. In fact, it is the stock of preexisting ideas shared within a culture that enables frames to be useful elements of communication.

Framing affects public opinion when a speaker’s frame shapes how an issue is perceived and evaluated. Specifically, framing occurs when a speaker highlights a particular piece of information, leading individuals to focus on this information above other considerations when forming an opinion. For example, a speaker might frame the offshore drilling debate by emphasizing energy considerations that could cause people to think about energy needs (rather than environmental concerns) when evaluating the issue, thus making them more likely to support drilling. Amos Tversky and Daniel Kahneman’s work on prospect theory showed that even very subtle frames could affect public opinion. One of their studies found that people were more likely to support an economic policy when it was framed as producing 95 percent employment than when it was framed as resulting in 5 percent unemployment, even though both scenarios have an equivalent outcome.

Framing research has developed in many directions, creating what Robert Entman (1993) calls a “fractured paradigm.” Some work focuses on text by using frame analysis methodology to study how frames are used in discourse among social movements and political institutions. Others have focused on the potential for bias in media reporting based on the selection (and thus exclusion) of particular frames. By obscuring certain elements of a debate, the media (and those who seek to control them) could exert power over how the public understands critical policy options, from domestic issues to decisions about going to war. In addition, the potential for political elites to control the framing of issues, and thus control the issues on which the public expresses an opinion, raises concerns about the veritable nature of public opinion.

These concerns are at least partially addressed in work on the moderation and limitations of framing effects. While framing had traditionally been treated as a fairly automatic process, growing evidence now suggests that people consider a frame and weigh its merits before adopting it. As such, framing effects can be moderated by strong predispositions (e.g., values, partisanship), political knowledge, the frame’s perceived applicability, its relative strength, and the credibility of the speaker. Moreover, competing frames and counterarguments from interpersonal discussions can lessen a frame’s initial impact.

Public opinion can be influenced by the way speakers frame issues or situations. While framing effects have been widely demonstrated, researchers continue to investigate the implications of framing and the factors that may condition its impact on public opinion.

Bibliography:

Chong, Dennis, and James N. Druckman. “Framing Theory.” Annual Review of Political Science 10, no. 1 (2007): 103–126.
Druckman, James N. “Political Preference Formation: Competition, Deliberation, and the (Ir)relevance of Framing Effects.” American Political Science Review 98, no. 4 (2004): 671–686.
Entman, Robert. “Framing:Toward Clarification of a Fractured Paradigm.” Journal of Communication 43, no. 4 (1993): 51–58.
Tversky, Amos, and Daniel Kahneman. “The Framing of Decisions and the Psychology of Choice.” Science 211 (January 1981): 453–458.