Framing Motives and Objectives
Which Frames Increase US Public Support for Defending Taiwan
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 7168263 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Chung-Li Wu (0000-0002-4741-3289, Institute of Political Science Academia Sinica Taipei Taiwan, corresponding author), Alex Min-Wei Lin (0000-0002-9020-8598, Department of Public Administration National Chengchi University Taipei Taiwan) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Volume | 107 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Publication date | 2026-01-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Social Science Quarterly (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0038-4941 • E-ISSN: 1540-6237 |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1111/ssqu.70126 |
| OpenAlex | W7123367765 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 27 |
Objective Recent opinion surveys show that a majority of Americans support providing military aid—but not US troops—to Taiwan in the event of a Chinese invasion. However, what motivates American public support for committing US forces to the island's defense? Methods Through a randomized online survey experiment with 3054 US adults, this study investigates the basic motivations driving this support—that is, (a) the extent to which the US incentives for assisting Taiwan are driven by self‐interest or altruism and (b) the degree to which US foreign policy objectives for defending Taiwan are abstract or concrete. Results The results indicate a modest but significant increase in support for intervention when respondents were presented with frames that emphasized self‐interest and concrete objectives (e.g., tangible economic and technological benefits), whereas appeals to altruism produced weaker effects. Conclusion These findings show the detectable and robust effects of self‐interest frames, particularly given rising public war‐weariness and shifting US foreign policy priorities
Altruism (biology) · Framing (construction) · Framing effect · Incentive · Intervention (counseling) · Public opinion · Public policy · Public support · International Relations and Foreign Policy · Public Relations and Crisis Communication · Social and Intergroup Psychology
U.S.-Taiwan Relations
Simultaneous Statistical Inference
In Time of War
Paying the Human Costs of War
The Framing of Decisions and the Psychology of Choice
Strategic Ambiguity, Strategic Clarity, and Dual Clarity
Victory Has Many Friends
Moral Support
The Structure of Foreign Policy Attitudes among American Leaders
US Military Intervention and Presidential Communication Frames
Still Pretty Prudent
Mechanisms of Morality
The Pretty Prudent Public
Taking Foreign Policy Personally
Public Opinion and Foreign Policy
Public Opinion and Decisions About Military Force in Democracies
Explaining Public Support for the Use of Military Force
Outlooks and affinities
Attitudes toward the Use of Force
Framing Theory
Mimicking Political Debate with Survey Questions
Strategic clarity or calamity? Competing logics of deterrence in the Taiwan Strait
Media Framing of a Civil Liberties Conflict and Its Effect on Tolerance
The Limit of American Public Support for Military Intervention
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |