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Political Behavior
Published in: Political Behavior 4/2009

01-12-2009 | Original Paper

Who Said What? The Effects of Source Cues in Issue Frames

Authors: Todd K. Hartman, Christopher R. Weber

Published in: Political Behavior | Issue 4/2009

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Abstract

Drawing on previous research concerning the role that source cues play in political information processing, we examine whether an ideological identity match between the source of a framed message and the respondent moderates framing effects. We test our hypotheses in two experiments concerning attitudes toward a proposed rally by the Ku Klux Klan. In Experiment 1 (N = 274), we test our hypothesis in a simple issue framing experiment. We find that framing effects occur for strong identifiers only when there is a match between the ideology of the speaker and respondent. In Experiment 2 (N = 259), we examine whether matched frames resonate equally well when individuals are simultaneously exposed to competing frames. The results from this experiment provide mixed support for our hypotheses. The results from our studies suggest that identity matching is an important factor to consider in future framing research.
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Appendix
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Footnotes
1
Druckman (2001b) distinguishes between two types of framing: Equivalency frames and expectancy (i.e., issue) frames. The former refers to logically equivalent frames, used, for example, in the progeny of experiments measuring risk-averse and risk-seeking behavior, whereas the latter refers to messages that invoke a subset of considerations, often commonly held values, which affect how citizens consider political issues.
 
2
Two subjects refused to identify their gender, and five subjects did not answer the race or party identification questions.
 
3
We also conducted a series of analyses with the standard 7-point NES ideology item in place of our differenced ideological identification measure and found the same statistically significant 3-way interaction presented in Table 1 (B = −0.78, SE = 0.36, p < 0.05). For subjects in the liberal matching condition, we found a statistically significant slope for frame, B = −0.22, SE = 0.11, p < 0.05; for conservatives this matching effect was even more pronounced, B = −0.43, SE = 0.17, p < 0.01. For strong identifiers in the mismatched conditions, there were no framing effects: A conservative source paired with liberal identifiers, B = 0.04, SE = 0.11, n.s.; a liberal source paired with conservative identifiers, B = 0.08, SE = 0.16, n.s.
 
4
Not surprisingly, we also find a main effect for all non-white subjects, such that they were less supportive (and tolerant) of the KKK rally.
 
5
This 3-way interaction holds when we use the 7-point NES ideology item as a measure of ideological identification: frame × source × identification, B = −5.04, SE = 1.99, p < 0.01).
 
6
According to Baron and Kenny (1986), mediated-moderation is tested as follows: (a) The dependent variable must be significantly predicted by the independent variable in the absence of the mediator variable, (b) the mediator must be significantly predicted by the independent variable, and (c) in an equation with both the mediator and independent variable, the independent variable should have no effect and/or be significantly reduced, while the mediator should significantly predict the dependent variable.
 
7
This 3-way interaction satisfies Baron and Kenny’s (1986) first criterion of mediated moderation.
 
8
Respondents indicated the importance of each value on a 7-point scale, which was recoded from 0 to 1, where high scores equal greater importance.
 
9
These models tests Baron and Kenny’s (1986) second criterion of mediated-moderation.
 
10
The fully saturated models test Baron and Kenny’s (1986) third criterion of mediated-moderation.
 
11
We find no differences when we substitute the 7-point NES ideology item as a measure of ideological identification for the frame-source × identification interaction, B = 0.16, SE = 0.18, n.s. Likewise we report null results for the ordered logit using the substituted measure of ideological identification, B = 0.47, SE = 0.97, n.s.
 
12
L = Liberal; C = Conservative; FS = Free Speech; PO = Public Order.
 
13
Our findings are somewhat at odds with rational updating of partisan attachments (Gerber and Green 1998). Our experiments suggest that participants do not adjust their identities from the position taken by liberals and conservatives; rather, participants adjust their positions depending on the position taken by liberals and conservatives. In short, our findings suggest that tolerance attitudes follow from identification, not the other way around.
 
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Metadata
Title
Who Said What? The Effects of Source Cues in Issue Frames
Authors
Todd K. Hartman
Christopher R. Weber
Publication date
01-12-2009
Publisher
Springer US
Published in
Political Behavior / Issue 4/2009
Print ISSN: 0190-9320
Electronic ISSN: 1573-6687
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11109-009-9088-y

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