Abstract
In a recent article in Argumentation, O’Keefe (Argumentation 21:151–163, 2007) observed that the well-known ‘framing effects’ in the social psychological literature on persuasion are akin to traditional fallacies of argumentation and reasoning and could be exploited for persuasive success in a way that conflicts with principles of responsible advocacy. Positively framed messages (“if you take aspirin, your heart will be more healthy”) differ in persuasive effect from negative frames (“if you do not take aspirin, your heart will be less healthy”), despite containing ‘equivalent’ content. This poses a potential problem, because people might be unduly (and unsuspectingly) influenced by mere presentational differences. By drawing on recent cognitive psychological work on framing effects in choice and decision making paradigms, however, we show that establishing whether two arguments are substantively equivalent—and hence, whether there is any normative requirement for them to be equally persuasive—is a difficult task. Even arguments that are logically equivalent may not be information equivalent. The normative implications of this for both speakers and listeners are discussed.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Adams, E.W. 1998. A primer of probability logic. Stanford: CSLI Publications.
Corner, A., U. Hahn, and M. Oaksford. 2006. The Slippery slope argument: Probability, utility and category boundary reappraisal. In Proceedings of the 28th annual conference of the cognitive science society, 1145–1151. Vancouver.
Grice, H.P. 1989. Studies in the way of words. Harvard: Harvard University Press.
Hahn, U., and M. Oaksford. 2006a. A Bayesian approach to informal reasoning fallacies. Synthese 152 (2): 207–237.
Hahn, U., and M. Oaksford. 2006b. Why a normative theory of argument strength and why might one want it to be Bayesian? Informal Logic 26: 1–24.
Hahn, U., and M. Oaksford. 2007. The rationality of informal argumentation: A Bayesian approach to reasoning fallacies. Psychological Review 114 (3): 704–732.
Hoeken, H. 2001. Anecdotal, statistical, and causal evidence: Their perceived and actual persuasiveness. Argumentation 15: 425–437.
Kahneman, D., P. Slovic, and A. Tversky. 1982. Judgment under uncertainty: Heuristics and biases. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Kahneman, D., and A. Tversky. 1979. Prospect theory: An analysis of decision making under risk. Econometrica 47 (2): 263–292.
Kuhberger, A. 1998. The influence of framing on risky decisions: A meta-analysis. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes 75: 23–55.
Levin, I.P., S.L. Schneider, and G.J. Gaeth. 1998. All frames are not created equal: A typology and critical analysis of framing effects. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes 76 (2): 149–188.
McKenzie, C.R.M., and J.D. Nelson. 2003. What a speaker’s choice of frame reveals: Reference points, frame selection, and framing effects. Psychonomic Bulletin and Review 10: 596–602.
Mckenzie, C.R.M., M. Liersch, and R. Finklestein. 2006. Recommendations implicit in policy defaults. Psychological Science 17 (5): 414–420.
Moxey, A., D. O’Connell, P. McGettigan, and D. Henry. 2003. Describing treatment effects to patients: How they are expressed makes a difference. Journal of General Internal Medicine 18: 948–959.
Oaksford, M., and N. Chater. 1994. A rational analysis of the selection task as optimal data selection. Psychological Review 101: 608–631.
O’Keefe, D.J. 1995. Argumentation studies and dual-process models of persuasion. In Proceedings of the third ISSA conference on argumentation, vol. 1: Perspectives and approaches, ed. F.H. van Eemeren, R. Grootendorst, J.A. Blair, and C.A. Willard, 3–17. Amsterdam: Sic Sat.
O’Keefe, D.J. 1997a. Standpoint explicitness and persuasive effect: A meta-analytic review of the effects of varying conclusion articulation in persuasive messages. Argumentation and Advocacy 34: 1–12.
O’Keefe, D.J. 1997b. Justification explicitness and persuasive effect: A meta-analytic review of the effects of varying support articulation in persuasive messages. Argumentation and Advocacy 35: 61–75.
O’Keefe, D.J. 2003. The potential conflict between normatively good argumentative practice and persuasive success. In Anyone who has a view: Theoretical contributions to the study of argumentation, ed. F.H. van Eemeren, J. Anthony Blair, C.A. Willard, and A. Francisca Snoeck Henkemans. Dordrecht: Kluwer.
O’Keefe, D.J. 2005. News for argumentation from persuasion effects research: Two cheers for reasoned discourse. In Selected papers from the thirteenth NCA/AFA conference on argumentation, ed. C.A. Willard, 215–221. Washington: National Communication Association.
O’Keefe, D.J. 2007. Potential Conflicts between normatively-responsible advocacy and successful social influence: Evidence from persuasion research. Argumentation 21: 151–163.
O’Keefe, D.J., and J.D. Jensen. 2007. The relative persuasiveness of gain-framed and loss-framed messages for encouraging disease prevention behaviours: A meta-analytic review. Journal of Health Communication 12: 623–644.
Priester, J.R., and R.E. Petty. 1995. Source attributions and persuasion: perceived honesty as a determinant of message scrutiny. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin 21: 637–654.
Rothman, A.J., R.D. Bartels, J. Wlaschin, and P. Salovey. 2006. The strategic use of gain-and loss-framed messages to promote healthy behaviour: How theory can inform practice. Journal of Communication 56: S202–S220.
Rothman, A.J., and P. Salovey. 1997. Shaping perceptions to motivate healthy behaviour: The role of message framing. Psychological Bulletin 121: 3–19.
Semin, G.R., and C.J. De Poot. 1997. Bringing partiality to light: Question wording and choice as indicators of bias. Social Cognition 15: 91–106.
Sher, S., and C.R.M. McKenzie. 2006. Information leakage from logically equivalent frames. Cognition 101: 467–494.
Siewierska, A. 1994. Word order and linearization. In The encyclopedia of language and linguistics, ed. R.E. Asher, and J.M.Y. Simpson. Oxford: Pergamon Press.
Stalnaker, R. 1975. Indicative conditionals. Philosophia 5: 269–286.
Tversky, A., and D. Kahneman. 1981. The framing of decisions and the psychology of choice. Science 211 (4481): 453–458.
Tversky, A., and D. Kahneman. 1986. Rational choice and the framing of decisions. Journal of Business 59: 251–278.
van Eemeren, F.H., and R. Grootendorst. 2004. A systematic theory of argumentation—the pragma-dialectical approach. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
van Enschot-Van Dijk, R., L. Hustinx, and H. Hoeken. 2003. The concept of argument quality in the elaboration likelihood model. In Anyone who has a view: Theoretical contributions to the study of argumentation, ed. F.H. van Eemeren, J. Anthony Blair, C.A. Willard, and A. Francisca Snoeck Henkemans, 319–333. Dordrecht: Kluwer.
Woods, J., and D. Walton. 1982. Argument: The logic of the fallacies. Toronto: McGraw-Hill Ryerson.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Corner, A., Hahn, U. Message Framing, Normative Advocacy and Persuasive Success. Argumentation 24, 153–163 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10503-009-9159-6
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10503-009-9159-6