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Framing Science: Understanding the Battle Over Public Opinion in Policy Debates

Overview. Traditional models of science communicationFace challenges from media system and media strategistsDon't fit with a scientific understanding of the mass public'What Else Works?Framing, examples from politicsFraming, examples across scienceEvidence?Stem cell debateGlobal warming d

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Framing Science: Understanding the Battle Over Public Opinion in Policy Debates

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    1. Framing Science: Understanding the Battle Over Public Opinion in Policy Debates

    2. Overview Traditional models of science communication Face challenges from media system and media strategists Don’t fit with a scientific understanding of the ‘mass public’ What Else Works? Framing, examples from politics Framing, examples across science Evidence? Stem cell debate Global warming debate

    3. Science Literacy and Popular Science Assumption: If the public knew more about the technical side of science, then the public would view issues as scientists do, and there would be fewer controversies Emphasis is on science education and mass mediated popular science.

    4. What about the Public Engagement Model? Two-way interaction between scientists and citizens. Upstream development of research (nanotechnology). Take advantage of localized understanding and knowledge. Increase citizen efficacy, sense of involvement, and fairness.

    5. “The American people have spoken. Seventy-two percent of Americans support ethically based stem cell research. In vetoing this legislation, the President would be saying ‘No’ to 72 percent of the American people.” House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi Science and the Battle Over the ‘Mass Public’

    6. A Fully Informed Public Versus a Miserly Public? Lessons from Political Campaigns

    7. Strategic Communication Is About Activation, Reinforcement, and Mobilization NOT Persuasion

    8. Latte Drinking Liberals: Framing as Activation “Frames” are thought organizers, devices for packaging complex issues in ways that activate value predispositions. Frames activate by emphasizing certain interpretations of an issue over others, structuring which parts of reality become noticed. “Frame devices” communicate in short hand the underlying meaning of a frame. Can be catchphrases, slogans, cartoons, symbols, or images. Frames are most influential when they resonate with existing religious, ideological, or cultural values.

    9. Framing the President: LEADERSHIP STYLE AND COMPETENCY Pro-Bush argument A: Bush has strong convictions and beliefs, he is a strong leader, and does not back down from goals based on polls or when short-term trends do not go his way. Pro-Bush argument B: Bush is the first “CEO president,” the “first president with a Harvard MBA,” smart enough to know that he needs to surround himself with really experienced, loyal people he can trust. Anti-Bush argument A: Bush is a blind ideologue. He is willing to bend facts/data ideology. Even if new information suggests that his original decisions were wrong, Bush is unwilling to change his mind. Anti-Bush argument B: A small group of like- minded ideologues protect him from information or input from other members of government that contradict his ideas or decisions.

    10. NEWSWEEK’S FRAME DEVICE

    11. Woodward’s STATE OF DENIAL

    12. NARRATIVE FIDELITY: Past Devices

    13. NARRATIVE FIDELITY: First Presidential Debate It's one thing to be certain, but you can be certain and be wrong. It's another to be certain and be right, or to be certain and be moving in the right direction, or be certain about a principle and then learn new facts and take those new facts and put them to use in order to change and get your policy right. What I worry about with the president is that he's not acknowledging what's on the ground, he's not acknowledging the realities of North Korea, he's not acknowledging the truth of the science of stem-cell research or of global warming and other issues. And certainty sometimes can get you in trouble. John Kerry when asked to describe the differences between himself and the President

    14. Framing Nuclear Energy: Social Progress & Economic Competitiveness "It is not too much to expect that our children will enjoy in their homes electrical energy too cheap to meter…” Lewis L. Strauss, Atomic Energy Commission to NASW 1954.

    15. Framing Stem Cell Research & Plant Biotech: Social Progress & Economic Competitiveness

    16. Framing Nuclear Energy: Pandora’s Box, Public Accountability & Uncertainty

    17. Framing Plant Biotech & Stem Cell Research: Pandora’s Box, Public Accountability & Uncertainty

    18. Framing Global Warming: Pandora’s Box

    19. Framing Global Warming: Uncertainty & Economic Competitiveness

    20. Framing Global Warming: Moral Duty & Economic Competitiveness

    21. NISBET APRIL 2005: Knowledge of Politics and Science of Stem Cell Research Mean= 1.8 SD= 1.3

    22. The Social Progress Frame

    23. The Morality Frame

    24. Stem Cell Debate: Who’s Winning the Frame Contest?

    25. What is the Nature of Media Coverage? Two Sided Trending More Positive

    26. VCU 2001 & 2002: Value Predispositions as a Perceptual Screen

    27. PEW: Since 2001, As Awareness Increases, Support Increases to Slight Majority

    28. VCU: Since 2001, Increasing Support to Slight Majority Level

    29. 2005 NISBET: BUT “Cloning” Remains a Frame Device In these results, we first see that the public is somewhat ambivalent about research. Most of the public, even for cloned embryo research, agree that research will benefit society, yet fewer respondents find the research morally acceptable. With this question wording, roughly 54% of respondents indicate support for funding spare embryo research, and 45% funding for cloned embryo research.In these results, we first see that the public is somewhat ambivalent about research. Most of the public, even for cloned embryo research, agree that research will benefit society, yet fewer respondents find the research morally acceptable. With this question wording, roughly 54% of respondents indicate support for funding spare embryo research, and 45% funding for cloned embryo research.

    30. PROP 71: How the West Was Won

    31. “One is the extraordinary opportunity we have here to eradicate these diseases that are plaguing our friends and families, diseases like Alzheimer's, MS, diabetes. (PROGRESS) Our scientists are not going into this field because there's not adequate funding, there's not adequate resources. Or if they are, we're losing them to other countries like Singapore. (ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT.) “I think the mistake is looking at this as just a cost. We should be looking at this as an investment for our economy. …As new treatments were found health care costs would go down. What history has shown us is that it's cheaper to--to cure a disease than it is to continue to treat a disease.” (ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT) Actor Brad Pitt on NBC Today Show, Oct. 26, 2004 STAYING ON MESSAGE: Brad, Why Do You Support Prop. 71?

    32. How the West Was Won: Ad Blitz, One-Sided Framing Shifted Support

    33. PEW: Since 2001, Differential In Support By Religious Affiliation

    34. PEW: Since 2001, Differential In Support By Partisanship

    35. GALLUP: Is medical research using stem cells obtained from human embryos morally acceptable?

    36. What About Global Warming? Similar Pattern: Knowledge is Low Public Rely on Frames Frames Activate Partisanship as Perceptual Screen

    37. GALLUP: Most Scientists Agree GW is Occurring

    38. PEW: Consensus Among Great Majority of Scientists that GW Exists and Poses Threat

    39. OSU/ABC: Most Scientists Agree GW is Happening Or Is There a Lot of Disagreement?

    40. GLOBAL WARMING: Knowledge of Bush Decision on Kyoto

    41. Framing Kyoto: An Economic Burden GALLUP Pres. Bush recently announced that the US will not adhere to the Kyoto International Treaty, which sets voluntary limits on the production of carbon dioxide and other global warming related gases. Bush says Kyoto places too much of an economic burden on the US while demanding little of developing countries. Do you approve or disapprove of Bush’s decision?

    42. Framing Kyoto: No Interpretation Provided

    43. GALLUP: Worried Great Deal/Fair Amount About Global Warming

    44. Gallup 10/2005: Partisan Differences in the Interpretation of Katrina Thinking about the increase in the number and strength of hurricanes in recent years, do you think global warming has been a major cause, a minor cause, or not a cause of the increase in hurricanes?

    45. CONCLUSION: Towards a Scientific Understanding of the Public Science literacy and public engagement models are limited, esp. when thinking about the “mass public.” For strategic communication, there is nothing essentially unique or different about science from other political issues. Battle for public opinion is about activating favorable predispositions and these predispositions are then used as powerful filtering devices by public. Frames are the primary tools of activation. Miserly citizens use frames in combination with their value predispositions to cut down on information costs.

    46. LOOKING AHEAD? What are the generalizable frames for science issues, and what language and symbols across issues trigger these interpretations? These general principles apply to global warming, intelligent design, plant biotechnology, nuclear energy, nanotechnology and other issues. Framing can be most influential when an issue is new i.e. stem cell research, plant biotech, and nanotechnology. Going beyond survey data and focus groups, can case studies inform?

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