Framing theory: what is it and how does it explain our perception?

Our way of perceiving the world depends very much on how information is presented to us.

Framing theory arose in interpretative sociology and quickly moved to cognitive psychology, in conjunction with linguistics. It allows us to understand how we access a version of reality through how information about that reality is presented.

In this article we will see what framing theory is all about, what its background is, why it is important for cognitive psychology and how it has impacted political and communication sciences.

• Related article, "What is social psychology?"

What is framing theory or framing theory?

The framing theory, or framing theory (framing theory uses the metaphor of the "frame" to analyze how mental processes (beliefs, perceptions, common sense) are structured in relation to language, and in turn, how they can be manipulated.

In recent times, framing theory has become a very popular multidisciplinary paradigm in the social and social sciences. paradigm in the social and communication sciences.. In particular, it has drawn heavily from cognitive linguistics, which has allowed it to study how public opinion is constructed in relation to the information we receive from concrete devices such as the mass media.

Framing has one of its antecedents in interpretative sociology (which proposes that individuals' interpretation of reality occurs during interaction). The term frame was used by Gregory Bateson in an essay on the psychology of perception, where he says that any information defined as a "frame" is the one that provides the receiver with elements to understand the messages included within that frame.

Does language function as a frame?

Words allow us to communicate because when we use them, we evoke a specific idea about something, we evoke a specific idea about something (whether we are the sender or the receiver). If we say the word "manzana" in a group of Spanish speakers who know apples, we will surely share a mental image very similar to a red edible sphere. Surely if we say "manzana", we would not conjure up the image of a pear or a tree.

This is so because, within our cognitive system, words fulfill functions similar to those of a "frame"; understanding "frame" as something that sets certain limits; it is an object that selects a certain information from among the total available information, and presents us with only that selection. This is how frames allow us to pay attention to one thing, to the detriment of another.to the detriment of another.

In other words, just like frames, words frame certain information, and allow us to recognize it, assimilate it and then share it.

Framing beyond the sender

Among other things, framing theory has allowed us to elaborate some explanations of how we establish communication with one another. That is, how we manage to transmit and receive meaningful signals. And furthermore, what role do our cognitive schemas play in this process?What ideas or perceptions are evoked from which words.

According to Ardèvol-Abreu (2015), in the communicative context of framing theory, there are four elements that are fundamental to understanding how the information frame is produced. These elements are the sender, the receiver, the text and the culture.

This is so because we can situate the frame not only in the person who emits the message (the sender) and in who receives it (the receiver), but it is also located in the information itself and in the culture in which it is inscribed. For example, the journalistic media, by presenting us with the information of interest, frame a reality from the moment it is presented to us, frame a reality from the moment in which it is decided what will and what will not be news..

Impact and application in Political Science

Thus, framing theory refers to the creation of frames of language and meaning, which in turn, helps us to generate moral concepts, affirm values, evoke emotions, among other psychological processes that are important for our daily interaction.among other psychological processes that are important for our daily interaction.

More specifically, the creation of these frames of language and meaning is visible in how the mass media present us with certain information related to political issues, and from this they try to frame our psychological schemas.

The American linguist George Lakoffin one of his most popular works "Don't Think of an Elephant", tells us that framing is precisely about choosing the language that fits our vision of the world. But it relates not only to language, but to the ideas that are evoked and transmitted.

Lakoff develops his work on framing in political theory starting from asking what does the political stance -for example, conservative- have to do with the positions taken on events that seem to be unrelated (e.g. abortion, environment, foreign policy), how does this meshing take place? Y... what do one's own positions have to do with how we understand that meshing? Such questions are those that could be addressed from the proposals of framing theory.

Bibliographical references:

• Ardèvol-Abreu (2015). Framing or framing theory in communication. Origins, development and current panorama in Spain. Revista Latina de Comunicación Social, 70: 433-450.
• Lakoff, G. (2007). Don't think of an elephant. Editorial Complutense, S.A.: Madrid.