Communication and Framing - Week 3

Communication and Framing WEEK 3 Harold Lasswell Framing  How people perceive, organize and deliver information.  We create a “frame” for how we want others to perceive our communication.  You can have the same message, but the frame used for that message may produce a dif...

Communication and Framing WEEK 3 Harold Lasswell Framing  How people perceive, organize and deliver information.  We create a “frame” for how we want others to perceive our communication.  You can have the same message, but the frame used for that message may produce a different effect.  Frames can therefore dictate how we interpret and “see” information when communicating. Framing Examples  Framing someone as being “pro-life” instead of “anti choice”/ “pro-choice” versus “anti-life” when it comes to abortion.  Ice cream “20% fat free” versus “80% fat”.  Framing anti-immigration as a security threat versus xenophobia. Priming  When exposure to an idea or stimulus influences later responses or actions, typically on a subconscious level.  Example: Being exposed to pictures of oranges makes you more likely to say oranges if someone asks you to name a food item.  Example: Seeing restaurant commercials all day will make you more likely to eat out than cook something at home all day. System 1 and System 2 (Daniel Kahneman)  System 1: Quick thinking process we use in simple everyday tasks. Example: Driving in a familiar neighbourhood.  System 2: Slow and deliberate thinking we use for more complex tasks which requires effort. Example: Completing a long math equation.  Using system 2 comes at a cost since we have limited cognitive resources.  Therefore, most of our decision-making is in system 1 since it saves mental resources to eventually be able to use system 2. Cognitive Depletion  Loss of self-control or ability to use system 2 which can happen when our cognitive resources have been exhausted. Cookies Radish Cognitive Depletion Experiment (Baumister)  Experiment: Participants were put in a waiting room which had cookies and radishes.  Some of the participants were allowed to eat the cookies while others had to use self-control (system 2) and were offered radishes instead.  Participants were then told to complete an impossible puzzle which they did not know was related to the experiment. Chocolate/Radish Cognitive Depletion Experiment (Baumister)  The goal was to see how long the participants would attempt to finish the task, even though it was intentionally made difficult.  The participants who had to refrain from eating the cookies made fewer attempts to complete the puzzle because their cognitive resources were used during the waiting phase.  Those in the radish treatment had essentially depleted their ability to engage in complex tasks. Heuristics  Mental shortcuts we use in system 1 to save cognitive resources.  Heuristics makes our thinking less efficient and more susceptible to errors.  However, heuristics are necessary to save mental resources for more complex tasks and to avoid cognitive depletion. Anchoring and Adjustment Heuristic  When an individual begins (anchors their brain) with an idea and adjusts their belief based on the starting point. Very prominent in negotiations.  If the initial anchor is far from the true value, it can lead to great disparities.  Example: If you believe a certain job is worth X amount of money, you will reject any offers lower than this, even if they may be reasonable.  Example: If you see both the initial price and the sale price for an item, you are more likely to buy it since the initial price “anchors” your thinking into believing you are getting a deal. Representativeness Heuristic  Making judgments based on a stereotype or prototype we have in our heads.  The prototype becomes representative of anyone in society who fits the parameters.  Example: If my prototype of a businessperson is a man in a suit and tie carrying a briefcase, I will assume anyone I see fitting this description is a businessperson.  Example: Believing anyone I see with torn clothes is homeless. Availability (recency bias) Heuristic  Mental shortcut which uses immediate examples or recent events when discussing a topic or subject or when making a decision.  Example: News about a recent bear attack causes you to mention how dangerous bears are during a discussion about animals. Fallacies  Faulty reasoning or lapses in judgment which especially in the construction of an argument.  Fallacies usually go unnoticed unless critically examined. Red Herring Fallacy  Something that distracts from the topic or argument at hand.  Example: Kneeling protest narrative being changed from police brutality to respecting the flag. False Dichotomy Fallacy  When someone frames an issue as having 2 options when more are available.  Example: Are you an introvert or an extravert?  Example: Is your favourite sport hockey or baseball? Ad Hominem Fallacy  Using a personal attack which has nothing to do with the argument at hand.  Example: Calling someone ugly during an argument about the best TV show.  Example: Pointing out that someone was recently dumped when arguing over who has the best car. Slippery Slope Fallacy  Believing that an initial action leads to a chain reaction.  Example: Gateway Drugs. If you smoke weed once you will eventually become a heroin addict. Appeal to Authority Fallacy  The fallacy of saying something is true, simply because someone in a position of authority made the claim.  This happens even when the authority figure is not an expert on the subject.  Example: Believing a scientist who is an expert on bacterial infections when the subject matter is viruses because “a scientist said it”. Bandwagon Logical Fallacy  Believing something must be true because other people are saying/doing it.  Often starts with someone putting out a piece of information and taking on a life of its own.  Example: Believing you must drink 8 glasses of water a day to be healthy due to the collective belief this is the case.  Example: The belief that Wasaga beach has a defecation issue based on social media discussions. The Planning Fallacy  Underestimating how long it will take to complete a task.  Applies only to completing one’s own task.  Example: Students frequently underestimating how long it will take to complete an assignment. Optimism Bias  The belief that you are somehow less likely to experience a negative event.  “That would never happen to me!”  Example: Approximately 50% of marriages end in divorce yet more than 50% of people get married. Choice Architecture  A framing technique where someone organizes the context of other people’s decision making.  Choice architecture involved “nudging” people towards certain decisions while still giving them the autonomy to make the final decision.  Example: Choice of grocery products can be influenced by shelf position since people are more likely to pick from the middle or eye level shelf.  Example: Smaller cups to dissuade people from drinking unhealthy beverages Choice Architecture Continued  Many employers engage in choice architecture when it comes to RRSP (retirement) payments.  Employers will take more than the typical average from employee payments and place it in a retirement fund since most people underestimate how much they need in retirement.  Employees can change this amount, but because we are passive thinkers, most do not make a change.  Choice architecture can be used to “save people from themselves”.