Record Details

Replication Data for: The Physiology of Framing Effects: Threat Sensitivity and the Persuasiveness of Political Arguments

Harvard Dataverse (Africa Rice Center, Bioversity International, CCAFS, CIAT, IFPRI, IRRI and WorldFish)

View Archive Info
 
 
Field Value
 
Title Replication Data for: The Physiology of Framing Effects: Threat Sensitivity and the Persuasiveness of Political Arguments
 
Identifier https://doi.org/10.7910/DVN/5A0JOI
 
Creator Coe, Chelsea
Canelo, Kayla
Vue, Kau
Hibbing, Matthew
Nicholson, Stephen
 
Publisher Harvard Dataverse
 
Description Framing effects are among the most commonly studied type of political information that shapes public opinion. We advance research on differences in susceptibility to framing effects by exploring whether, and how, physiological traits condition responses to messages in the political environment. In particular, we propose that the effectiveness of a frame depends on how well that frame’s argument matches the physiological predisposition or “outlook” of the recipient. We hypothesize that individuals who possess particular traits (we focus on physiological threat sensitivity) are more likely to be persuaded by frames that trigger those predispositions. To test this claim, we replicate and extend Nelson, Clawson, and Oxley’s (1997) landmark framing experiment about political tolerance in response to a Ku Klux Klan rally. We find that participants high in threat sensitivity are more susceptible to frames that invoke physical danger suggesting that physiological predispositions can help explain the influence of framing effects.
 
Subject Social Sciences
framing, threat sensitivity, political tolerance, physiological response, electrodermal activity
 
Contributor Coe, Chelsea