Effects of Frame Repetition Through Cues in the Online Environment

Abstract

Research has shown that message frames can shape a reader’s subsequent judgments on political issues. In the online news environment, additional cues outside the story may be present that can affect the power of the frame. This online experiment investigates the role of repetitive cues in the framing processes using news editorials and their accompanying recommended headlines that repeat the editorial’s frame. Results suggest that regarding issue-related attitudes and emotions, consistent frame repetition reinforced the effects of the original article when the frame’s relevance to the readers was high but undermined the article’s impact when the relevance was low. Implications for framing studies and online news consumption are discussed.

Notes

¹ Considering the length of the editorial (250–300 words) and the reading speed of U.S. adults (200–400 words per minute for most readers), we removed respondents who spent less than 25 seconds on the stimulus page (assuming that some participants can reach a reading speed of 600 words per minute). Although one may choose to skim to read faster, it is always at the expense of comprehension (for a review on reading speed and comprehension, see Rayner, Schotter, Masson, Potter, & Treiman, 2016).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Jiawei Liu

Jiawei Liu (M.S., University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2013) is a Ph.D. student in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. His research interests include media effects and communication technologies with an emphasis on framing effects in digital contexts.

ByungGu Lee

ByungGu Lee (M.S., Syracuse University, 2009) is a Ph.D. student in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. His research interests include media effects and audience psychology in the context of political decision making.

Douglas M. McLeod

Douglas M. McLeod (Ph.D., University of Minnesota, 1989) is the Evjue Centennial Professor in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. His research interests include social conflicts and the media, media framing effects, and public opinion.

Hyesun Choung

Hyesun Choung (M.A., Yonsei University, 2013) is a Ph.D. student in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Her research focuses on the psychological underpinnings of media effects in political and health communication contexts.