How Predictive Appeals Affect Policy Opinions

Bibliographic Data

ID6230190
AuthorsJennifer Jerit (0000-0002-7982-9959, Florida State University, corresponding author), Jason Barabas (0000-0002-4083-8428)
Year2009
Volume53
Issue2
Pages411-426
Publication date2009-04-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueAmerican Journal of Political Science (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0092-5853 • E-ISSN: 1540-5907
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/j.1540-5907.2009.00378.x
OpenAlexW2033502228
LanguageEN
Citations received74
References cited44

When political actors debate the merits of a public policy, they often focus on the consequences of a bill or legislative proposal, with supporters and opponents making stark but contradictory predictions about the future. Building upon the framing literature, I examine how rhetoric about a policy's consequences influences public opinion. I show that predictive appeals work largely by altering people's beliefs about the impact of a policy. Following in the tradition of recent framing research, this article also examines how opinions are influenced when people are exposed to opposing predictions. The analysis focuses on two strategies that are common in real‐world debates—the direct rebuttal (in which an initial appeal is challenged by a statement making the opposite prediction) and the alternate frame (which counters an initial appeal by shifting the focus to some other consequence). There are important differences in the effectiveness of these two strategies—a finding that has implications for the study of competitive framing and the policymaking process more generally

Appeal · Economics · Framing (construction · Framing effect · Law and economics · Legislature · Political science · Politics · Positive economics · Public opinion · Public policy · Public relations · Rebuttal · Rhetoric · Sociology · Electoral Systems and Political Participation · Law · Policy Transfer and Learning · Political Influence and Corporate Strategies · Psychology · Social Psychology

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