New article “The Effects of Framing and Advocacy Expectancy on Belief Importance and Issue Attitude” in the journal Mass Communication and Society from the Cognitive Effects Research Group (KEG).
Abstract: Message frames have been found to influence relevant issue attitudes by influencing the weight of issue considerations emphasized in the message. As such message frames often originate from advocacy interest groups, this study investigates differences in the framing effects of advocacy groups, depending on whether the message fits readers’ expectations for the communicators’ issue position (expected advocacy) or not (unexpected advocacy). Across two issue topics, findings suggest that unexpected advocacy significantly influenced readers’ perceived belief importance, which in turn influenced issue attitudes, whereas the same mediated path of framing effects was not supported in the case of expected advocacy.
Full citation: Liu, J., Su, M. H., McLeod, D. M., Abisaid, J., & Lu, L. (2020). The effects of framing and advocacy expectancy on belief importance and issue attitude. Mass Communication and Society, 23:4, 537-553.
Access the article: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/15205436.2020.1728776?journalCode=hmcs20