Complementary and competitive framing of driverless cars : framing effects, attitude volatility, or attitude resistance?

• Main Author: Ho, Shirley S.
• Other Authors: Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: 2021
• Subjects: Social sciences::Communication; Driverless Cars; Framing
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/146768
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

This study answers two research questions regarding framing theory. First, what happens when frames are challenged? Second, how resistant are the opinions that initial frames induce? 1,006 participants completed an online experiment where they were randomly assigned to first view a blog post with either complementary or competitive framing on driverless cars. Participants also viewed a blog post that challenged the stance of the first blog post. Results revealed that complementary frames polarized opinions, while competitive frames neutralized framing effects. Competitive frames induced more resistant opinions than complementary frames did. Attitude and support were susceptible to new, antagonistic information. This study concludes that framing effects are ephemeral and easily challenged by different information.