I learned about frames, mental models and schema (all similarly concepts) back in the 80s when I was studying cognitive development in grad school. There is strong evidence that frames are how most of our knowledge and understanding of the world is organized. Frames are incredibly powerful and can be manipulated by those who understand h…
I learned about frames, mental models and schema (all similarly concepts) back in the 80s when I was studying cognitive development in grad school. There is strong evidence that frames are how most of our knowledge and understanding of the world is organized. Frames are incredibly powerful and can be manipulated by those who understand how they work.
Republicans learned a long time ago that people often have competing frames/models of different issues and that the words we use can activate one scheme over another. That is the basis for the work of people like Frank Luntz. Luntz conducted focus groups to test which phrases evoke the frames Republicans want us to bring to mind. That is why Republicans decided to use the term “privatize” when talking about Medicare. The public hated the idea of giving Medicare to insurance companies because that idea brings up frames or storylines about greed, price gouging, denial of coverage, etc. Luntz found the term “privatize” was the most positive way to frame their Medicare messages because it conjures up frames about controlling your own money and having choices rather than the big bad gubmint choosing for them.
The framing of government as bad, as the cause of our problems was one that Reagan worked hard to implant in Americans’ minds. I am convinced that while some people already had that frame, many adopted it after that kind of right wing, anti-government propaganda.
Many, if not most of our frames/mental models come from experience. For example I have two mental models about welfare based on my personal experience growing up. One is of an older relative who lived in a state that had generous welfare benefits. He wasted his life drinking and was often unemployed because he got enough money to scrape by with just odd jobs. He was smart guy who could have done well in many things. I always thought he might have been forced to get a regular job if his benefits had been lower. (He was not someone who would not have tolerated being homeless.) This is the frame that Reagan’s “welfare queen” was designed to activate — the person who is capable of work but lives off the money provided by those of us who work.
My second frame/model comes from growing up in a small town in Appalachia before LBJ’s War on Poverty. The town itself was prosperous but the surrounding rural areas were not. I had classmates who were literally dirt poor because their homes had no indoor plumbing and they rarely washed. They were filthy, smelled bad and were clearly undernourished. Most were terrible students because their parents didn’t think learning was worth the time. Parents often kept them home from school to help out and encouraged them to drop out as soon as they turned 16. Because our school didn’t do social promotions I had often boys in my grade school classes who were over six feet tall! (My husband freaked out the first time he saw my class pictures). One of my classmates managed to move out of poverty but she was the rare exception. She recently told me that she had only succeeded because our 4th grade teacher had taken her aside and told her she didn’t have to live like that, that she was smart and could improve her life if she stayed in school. She said it had never occurred to her before that she had any choice. Most of her 16 siblings dropped out and still struggle to get by but at least their standard of living is higher because of anti-poverty programs that started with LBJ.
This is the mental model that frames my understanding of poverty — most people are trapped in poverty and need help to get out of it. They aren’t stupid, bad or greedy. I understand that a small percentage of people may abuse welfare but that doesn’t offset the great good it can do.
All of these examples are of white people. The black kids I grew up with had parents whowere working class or middle class. Most graduated and many went on to college or job training.
Because of the frames I subconsciously created growing up I have always supported anti-poverty programs. People I know who have never known personally known any poor people and whose exposure to poverty has been in urban areas think most poor people are black or Hispanic which evokes their (usually negative) frames about race. Hollywood helped strength that image with their constant depiction of urban poverty and violence. As a result of their experience many of these folks have the “welfare queen” model in their minds. They see those programs through the frame of “inferior people taking away my money”. That mental model has been strengthened by the media’s obsessive focus on sensational crime stories. Those people are all Republicans who have fell for their welfare queen messaging.
I learned about frames, mental models and schema (all similarly concepts) back in the 80s when I was studying cognitive development in grad school. There is strong evidence that frames are how most of our knowledge and understanding of the world is organized. Frames are incredibly powerful and can be manipulated by those who understand how they work.
Republicans learned a long time ago that people often have competing frames/models of different issues and that the words we use can activate one scheme over another. That is the basis for the work of people like Frank Luntz. Luntz conducted focus groups to test which phrases evoke the frames Republicans want us to bring to mind. That is why Republicans decided to use the term “privatize” when talking about Medicare. The public hated the idea of giving Medicare to insurance companies because that idea brings up frames or storylines about greed, price gouging, denial of coverage, etc. Luntz found the term “privatize” was the most positive way to frame their Medicare messages because it conjures up frames about controlling your own money and having choices rather than the big bad gubmint choosing for them.
The framing of government as bad, as the cause of our problems was one that Reagan worked hard to implant in Americans’ minds. I am convinced that while some people already had that frame, many adopted it after that kind of right wing, anti-government propaganda.
Many, if not most of our frames/mental models come from experience. For example I have two mental models about welfare based on my personal experience growing up. One is of an older relative who lived in a state that had generous welfare benefits. He wasted his life drinking and was often unemployed because he got enough money to scrape by with just odd jobs. He was smart guy who could have done well in many things. I always thought he might have been forced to get a regular job if his benefits had been lower. (He was not someone who would not have tolerated being homeless.) This is the frame that Reagan’s “welfare queen” was designed to activate — the person who is capable of work but lives off the money provided by those of us who work.
My second frame/model comes from growing up in a small town in Appalachia before LBJ’s War on Poverty. The town itself was prosperous but the surrounding rural areas were not. I had classmates who were literally dirt poor because their homes had no indoor plumbing and they rarely washed. They were filthy, smelled bad and were clearly undernourished. Most were terrible students because their parents didn’t think learning was worth the time. Parents often kept them home from school to help out and encouraged them to drop out as soon as they turned 16. Because our school didn’t do social promotions I had often boys in my grade school classes who were over six feet tall! (My husband freaked out the first time he saw my class pictures). One of my classmates managed to move out of poverty but she was the rare exception. She recently told me that she had only succeeded because our 4th grade teacher had taken her aside and told her she didn’t have to live like that, that she was smart and could improve her life if she stayed in school. She said it had never occurred to her before that she had any choice. Most of her 16 siblings dropped out and still struggle to get by but at least their standard of living is higher because of anti-poverty programs that started with LBJ.
This is the mental model that frames my understanding of poverty — most people are trapped in poverty and need help to get out of it. They aren’t stupid, bad or greedy. I understand that a small percentage of people may abuse welfare but that doesn’t offset the great good it can do.
All of these examples are of white people. The black kids I grew up with had parents whowere working class or middle class. Most graduated and many went on to college or job training.
Because of the frames I subconsciously created growing up I have always supported anti-poverty programs. People I know who have never known personally known any poor people and whose exposure to poverty has been in urban areas think most poor people are black or Hispanic which evokes their (usually negative) frames about race. Hollywood helped strength that image with their constant depiction of urban poverty and violence. As a result of their experience many of these folks have the “welfare queen” model in their minds. They see those programs through the frame of “inferior people taking away my money”. That mental model has been strengthened by the media’s obsessive focus on sensational crime stories. Those people are all Republicans who have fell for their welfare queen messaging.
This is fascinating; thank you very much. I will try to dig into this more but for the moment will again just say, Thank you.