In the social sciences, framing comprises a set of concepts and theoretical perspectives on how individuals, groups, and societies, organize, perceive, and communicate about reality. Framing involves social construction of a social phenomenon – by mass media sources, political or social movements, political leaders, or other actors and organizations. Recent findings in the domain of embodied cognition and conceptual metaphor theory are important theoretical frameworks in this context.
Benford, R. D., & Snow, D. A.. (2000). Framing Processes and Social Movements: An Overview and Assessment. Annual Review of Sociology
“The recent proliferation of scholarship on collective action frames and framing processes in relation to social movements indicates that framing processes have come to be regarded, alongside resource mobilization and political opportunity processes, as a central dynamic in understanding the character and course of social movements. this review examines the analytic utility of the framing literature for understanding social movement dynamics. we first review how collective action frames have been conceptualized, including their characteristic and variable features. we then examine the literature related to framing dynamics and processes. next we review the literature regarding various contextual factors that constrain and facilitate framing processes. we conclude with an elaboration of the consequences of framing processes for other movement processes and outcomes. we seek throughout to provide clarification of the linkages between framing concepts/processes and other conceptual and theoretical formulation…”
Chong, D., & Druckman, J. N.. (2007). Framing Theory. Annual Review of Political Science
“■ abstract we review the meaning of the concept of framing, approaches to study-ing framing, and the effects of framing on public opinion. after defining framing and framing effects, we articulate a method for identifying frames in communication and a psychological model for understanding how such frames affect public opinion. we also discuss the relationship between framing and priming, outline future research directions, and describe the normative implications of framing.”
Scheufele, D. A.. (1999). Framing as a theory of media effects. Journal of Communication
“Research on framing is characterized by theoretical and empirical vagueness. this is due, in part, to the lack of a commonly shared theoretical model underlying framing research. conceptual problems translate into operational problems, limit- ing the comparability of instruments and results. in this paper i systematize the fragmented approaches to framing in political communication and integrate them into a comprehensive model. i classify previous approaches to framing research along two dimensions: the type of frame examined (media frames vs. audience frames) and the way frames are operationalized (independent variable or depen- dent variable). i develop a process model of framing, identifying four key processes that should be addressed in future research: frame building, frame setting, individual- level processes of framing, and a feedback loop from audiences to journalists.”
Entman, R. M.. (1993). Framing: Toward Clarification of a Fractured Paradigm. Journal of Communication
“Communication must bring ideas together in one location in order to enhance communication scholarship and make the field a master discipline capable of synthesizing information. the ‘framing’ of communication theory is discussed.”
Tversky, A., & Kahneman, D.. (1986). Rational Choice and the Framing of Decisions. The Journal of Business
“The modern theory of decision making under risk emerged from a logical analysis of games of chance rather than from a psychological analysis of risk and value. the theory was conceived as a normative model of an idealized decision maker, not as a description of the behavior of real people. in schumpeter’s words, it ‘has a much better claim to being called a logic of choice than a psychology of value’ (1954, p. 1058).”
Tversky, A., & Kahneman, D.. (1981). The framing of decisions and the psychology of choice. Science
“The psychological principles that govern the perception of decision prob- lems and the evaluation of probabilities and outcomes produce predictable shifts of preference when the same problem is framed in different ways. reversals of prefer- ence are demonstrated in choices regarding monetary outcomes, both hypothetical and real, and in questions pertaining to the loss of human lives. the effects of frames on preferences are compared to the effects of perspectives on perceptual appear- ance. the dependence of preferences on the formulation of decision problems is a significant concern for the theory of rational choice”
Levin, I. P., Schneider, S. L., & Gaeth, G. J.. (1998). All Frames Are Not Created Equal: A Typology and Critical Analysis of Framing Effects. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes
“This special issue of journal of communication is devoted to theoretical explanations of news framing, agenda setting, and priming effects. it examines if and how the three models are related and what potential relationships between them tell theorists and researchers about the effects of mass media. as an introduction to this effort, this essay provides a very brief review of the three effects and their roots in media-effects research. based on this overview, we highlight a few key dimensions along which one can compare, framing, agenda setting, and priming. we conclude with a description of the contexts within which the three models operate, and the broader implications that these conceptual distinctions have for the growth of our discipline.”
Levin, I. P., Gaeth, G. J., Schreiber, J., & Lauriola, M.. (2002). A new look at framing effects: Distribution of effect sizes, individual differences, and independence of types of effects. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes
“Framing is used here to conceptualize the political signification that social movements use – assigning meaning to events & conditions in ways intended to mobilize participants & gain support. four sets of factors concerned with the conditions that affect framing efforts are considered here: (1) how diagnostic, prognostic, & motivational framing tasks are interconnected; (2) the internal constraints of the belief system; (3) the relevance of the framing effort to the phenomenological world of the participants; & (4) the cycle of protest in which the movement is embedded. the approach has the advantages of capturing the complexity of movement participation & of addressing those situations when structural conditions seem advantageous but mobilization is not successful. 42 references. a. waters”
Halsnæs, K., Shukla, P., Ahuja, D., Akumu, G., Beale, R., Edmonds, J., … J. Zou. (2007). Framing issues. In Climate Change 2007: Mitigation. Contribution of Working Group III to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
“This paper argues for the necessity of universal health care (as well as universal free education) using a different argument than most that have been made heretofore. it is not meant to conflict with but to strengthen the arguments previously made by others. using the second paragraph of the declaration of independence and the preamble to the constitution we argue that universal health care in this day and age has become a necessary condition if the ideals of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness are to be more than an empty promise and if the discussion of ‘promoting of general welfare’ in the preamble is to have any meaning.”
Nisbet, M., & Mooney, C.. (2007). Framing science. Science
“Framing is the process by which a communication source constructs and defines a social or political issue for its audience. while many observers of political communication and the mass media have discussed framing, few have explicitly described how framing affects public opinion. in this paper we offer a theory of framing effects, with a specific focus on the psychological mechanisms by which framing influences political attitudes. we discuss important conceptual differences between framing and traditional theories of persuasion that focus on belief change. we outline a set of hypotheses about the interaction between framing and audience sophistication, and test these in an experiment. the results support our argument that framing is not merely persuasion, as it is traditionally conceived. we close by reflecting on the various routes by which political communications can influence attitudes.”
Pan, Z., & Kosicki, G. M.. (1993). Framing analysis: An approach to news discourse. Political Communication
“In the american political process, news discourse concerning public policy issues is carefully constructed. this occurs in part because both politicians and interest groups take an increasingly proactive approach to amplify their views of what an issue is about. however, news media also play an active role in framing public policy issues. thus, in this article, news discourse is conceived as a sociocognitive process involving all three play- ers: sources, journalists, and audience members operating in the universe of shared culture and on the basis of socially defined roles. framing analysis is presented as a constructivist approach to examine news discourse with the primary focus on conceptualizing news texts into empirically operationalizable dimensions-syntactical, script, thematic, and rhetorical structures-so that evidence of the news media’s framing of issues in news texts may be gathered. this is considered an initial step toward analyzing the news discourse process as a whole. finally, an extended empirical example is provided to illustrate the applications of this conceptual framework of news texts. abstract from author copyright of political communication is the property of routledge and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder’s express written permission. however, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. this abstract may be abridged. no warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (copyright applies to all abstracts) in the american political process, news discourse concerning public policy issues is carefully constructed. this occurs in part because both politicians and interest groups take an increasingly proactive approach to amplify their views of what an issue is about. however, news media also play an active role in framing public policy issues. thus, in this article, news discourse is conceived as a sociocognitive process involving all three play- ers: sources, journalists, and audience members operating in the universe of shared culture and on the basis of socially defined roles. framing analysis is presented as a constructivist approach to examine news discourse with the primary focus on conceptualizing news texts into empirically operationalizable dimensions-syntactical, script, thematic, and rhetorical structures-so that evidence of the news…”
Hallahan, K.. (1999). Seven Models of Framing: Implications for Public Relations. Journal of Public Relations Research
“Framing is a potentially useful paradigm for examining the strategic creation of public relations messages and audience responses. based on a literature review across disciplines, this article identifies 7 distinct types of framing applicable to public relations. these involve the framing of situations, attributes, choices, actions, issues, responsibility, and news. potential applications for public relations practice and research are discussed.”
he Ebbinghaus illusion or Titchener circles is an optical illusion of relative size perception. Named for its discoverer, the German psychologist Hermann Ebbinghaus (1850–1909), the illusion was popularized…