Options
Reality Bites: The Limits of Framing Effects in Salient Policy Decisions
Journal
Political science research and methods : PSRM
ISSN
2049-8470
ISSN-Digital
2049-8489
Type
journal article
Date Issued
2015-09
Author(s)
Abstract
A large literature argues that public opinion is vulnerable to various types of framing and cue effects. However, we lack evidence on whether existing findings, which are typically based on lab experiments involving low salience issues, travel to salient and contentious political issues in real-world voting situations. We examine the relative importance of issue frames, partisan cues, and their interaction for opinion formation using a survey experiment conducted around a highly politicized referendum on immigration policy in Switzerland. We find that voters responded to frames and cues, regardless of their direction, by increasing support for the position that is in line with their pre-existing partisan attachment. This reinforcement effect was most visible among low knowledge voters that identified with the party that owned the issue. These results support some of the previous findings in the political communication literature, but at the same time also point toward possible limits to framing effects in the context of salient and contested policy issues.
Language
English
HSG Classification
contribution to scientific community
Refereed
Yes
Publisher
Cambridge Univ. Press
Publisher place
Cambridge
Volume
3
Number
3
Start page
683
End page
695
Subject(s)
Division(s)
Eprints ID
248244