| Summary: | This paper describes a research project which examines how attitudes are shaped and formed and how opinion makers and agenda setters influence such attitudes in their followers. We concentrate on the written media as our research environment. We explore how framing of news items affect readers. Our research design creates three articles which describe an identical topic: the ratification of a Palestinian state by the Israeli Cabinet. The three articles are framed differently: one advocates the decision and thus is imbued with positive framing, the second condemns it, and accordingly is permeated by negative frames and the third is frameless. Three different reader groups grapple with the texts and are being tested with the same three tests: memory, categorization and meaning tests. We predict that people who read the pro-state text would respond favorably to the idea of a Palestinian state, whereas those who were exposed to the opposite framing would develop an adverse attitude.
In sum, the interaction between leaders and followers is extremely important in shaping attitudes such as adherence, loyalty and commitment. Leaders with established authority and command have the potential of molding and forging beliefs, judgments and evaluations. Our results demonstrate significant support for this claim. This research might have long-range implications beyond indicating the nexus between manipulating a text and the comprehension of its readers. The suggestions and conclusions elaborated here can be incorporated into a broader research agenda, which deals with issues such as: authority and legitimacy (how do leaders lead, why do adherents follow?), recruitment and mobilization (how to animate and stimulate crowds?), political activism (how to elicit loyalty, commitment and willing to sacrifice?), propaganda and incitement (how to sway opinions and positions?), and from there, to even larger scaled explorations into the political, psychological and structural dimensions of regimes, political parties and social movements.
|
|---|