Fleeting, Fading, or Far-Reaching? A Knowledge-Based Model of the Persistence of Framing Effects

Abstract

The social relevance of framing effects hinges upon their ability to persist. This article develops a theoretical account of the conditions under which framing effects should vanish quickly, fade slowly, or cause permanent changes. It argues that the cognitive processes involved in mediating frame effect need to leave durable traces in a person's knowledge to raise a persistent effect. This paper distinguishes temporary changes in the accessibility of knowledge from durable changes in the applicability structure and belief content. It discusses under which conditions these memory traces will likely affect judgment formation also after the stimulus is gone. We argue that the durability of framing effects can be modeled based on the chronic accessibility of frame‐relevant knowledge and the familiarity of the frame.

Budgeting Audit Time: Effects of Audit Step Frame and Verifiability

“…Extant research in psychology reports that repeated exposure to framing, as well as making participants aware of the framing effect, does not eliminate it-and may even increase it (Levin et al 1986;Levin, Jasper, and Gaeth 1996;LeBoeuf and Shafir 2003;Chong and Druckman 2007;Druckman, Fein, and Leeper 2012;Baden and Lecheler 2012;Lecheler and de Vreese 2011). This is presumably because repeated consideration increases focus on the aspects highlighted by the frame (Chong and Druckman 2007).…”

The Effects of Repetitive News Framing on Political Opinions over Time

“…the magnitude of the change in political opinions after each exposure) and its (2) duration (i.e. how long this change lasts; Baden & Lecheler, 2012;Zaller, 1992). Whereas these dimensions are likely positively correlated, there is evidence that strong effects can dissipate quickly (Druckman & Nelson, 2003) and that small effects may last over longer periods of time (Lecheler & De Vreese, 2013).…”

“…Interestingly, this learning process also heightens the chance of agreeing with a frame's advocated standpoints (e.g. Baden & Lecheler, 2012;Slothuus, 2008). 1 Research in persuasion has shown that repetition indeed leads to increased agreement with a persuasive message, specifically if repetitions are spaced over longer periods of time (Cacioppo & Petty, 1979;Fernandes, 2013;Gorn & Goldberg, 1980;Stephens & Rains, 2011).…”

“…change "belief content"). Belief content is held to be one important mediator of framing effects (Slothuus, 2008) alongside accessibility and availability effects (Baden & Lecheler, 2012). In this sense, with every frame repetition, individuals are more likely to remember the arguments presented within a news frame.…”

Learning From News on Different Media Platforms: An Eye-Tracking Experiment

“…Indeed, the question of whether the learning effects shown in this study lead to actual long-term storage and incorporation into existing schemata must be a topic for future research. Future studies could introduce longitudinal experimental designs, where the repetitive or competitive consumption of news is tracked over time (Baden & Lecheler, 2012). However, we want to note that experimental designs such as ours are commonly used, and have allowed us to disentangle the psychological processes that lead to news learning.…”