Framing issues and identities: Aligning the content of group identity with the meaning of issues to produce normative influence
Creators: name: O'Brien, Kerry
Publisher: name: The Australian National University
Year: 2017
Subjects: Social identity
framing
social influence
climate change
religion

description: This thesis aims to contribute to our understanding of the social influence processes commonly at play in public debate; to understand how rhetoric about issues and about social groups can influence public opinion. This research draws upon the social identity tradition (Tajfel, 1972; Tajfel &amp; Turner, 1979; Turner, Hogg, Oakes, Reicher &amp; Wetherell, 1987) which suggests that people’s attitudes and behaviour are influenced by the norms of groups they identify with, and that this influence depends on the extent to which the issue at hand is perceived as relevant to the group (e.g., Smith, Terry, Crosier &amp; Duck, 2005; Mackie, Worth &amp; Asuncion, 1990; Wyer, 2010). The question of which group is relevant to a particular issue, however, is not always self-evident and those who seek to shape public attitudes will offer interpretations of the nature of groups or issues in order to establish the relevance of a group whose norms are in line with their own agenda. In Chapter 3, we detail work by Reicher, Hopkins and colleagues on the strategic construction of identity, and their notion that those who seek to shape public opinion need to become entrepreneurs of identity. In Chapter 4, we review the literature on issue framing which shows how different rhetorical constructions of an issue can influence attitudes (e.g. Chong &amp; Druckman, 2007). We outline findings from the field of political science demonstrating the extent to which people are guided by party cues, particularly in contexts which suggest that the issue is relevant to the party (Slothuus &amp; de Vreese, 2010; Druckman, Peterson and Slothuus, 2013). We also outline research by Cohen (2003) suggesting that people draw upon their understanding of groups and group norms to make sense of issues. Chapter 5 reports on two studies investigating the connection between religion and political attitudes. The results indicate that highlighting the relevance of either cultural issues (i.e. abortion, euthanasia and gay rights) or civic issues (i.e. welfare, climate change, asylum seekers) to participants’ Christian identity can influence the extent to which group norms influence attitudes towards different types of issues. Chapter 6 reports on two further studies that examine the effect that framing climate change as a moral, economic or political issue has on the extent to which religious/spiritual group, class group or partisan group norms predict attitudes. The results indicate that different framings of climate change can influence the extent to which different group norms predict attitudes, with contrasting effects depending on the level of identification with the group. In the final chapter we draw out the implications of these findings with regard to the theoretical background outlined. We identify a number of implications relating to the practice of research in the field of social identity as well as the practice of mass persuasion. We also identify some avenues for future research to add to the wealth of knowledge in this area.