‘The Way Enthusiasm Builds’

Frame Amplification and Emotional Reinforcement in Participatory Policymaking

Bibliographic Data

ID21465327
AuthorsAngelika Zimmermann (0000-0002-0067-4537, Loughborough University, corresponding author), Jasper O Kenter (0000-0002-3612-086X, Stockholm Environment Institute), Alison Dyke (0000-0003-2639-1620, Stockholm Environment Institute)
Year2026
Volume205
Issue1
Pages49-69
Publication date2026-04-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Business Ethics (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0167-4544 • E-ISSN: 1573-0697
PublisherSpringer Science and Business Media LLC (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1007/s10551-025-06045-2
OpenAlexW4413075604
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited60

To create policies about complex environmental challenges, it is vital to involve multiple stakeholders. Whilst research has shown how emotions may influence multi-stakeholder collaborations, the role of emotions in participatory policymaking is not sufficiently understood. This study focuses on the role of emotions during a series of citizen workshops that feed into urban tree management policies. Specifically, we explore how emotions are related to the deliberation of citizens’ frames (i.e. sensemaking schemata). Our findings demonstrate inherent interconnections between participants’ frames and emotions. We identify a chain of mechanisms by which the expression of frames and associated emotions during interactions led to an intertwined amplification of citizens’ frames and reinforcement of their emotions. We also explain the cases of ‘separation’ where this did not occur. Our model extends prior insights into the relationship between frames and emotions and demonstrates how citizen workshops serve not only to gain citizens’ input into public policies, but also to cultivate their frames through emotional reinforcement

Business ethics · Citizen journalism · Deliberation · Enthusiasm · Political science · Public relations · Sensemaking · Sociology · Stakeholder · Community Health and Development · Computer Science · Management and Organizational Studies · Psychology · Social and Cultural Dynamics · Social Psychology

Tools

Open DOIOpen Access