A clearer picture: The contribution of visuals and text to framing effects

Author(s)
Thomas E. Powell, Hajo Boomgaarden, Knut de Swert, Claes de Vreese
Abstract

Visuals in news media help define, or frame issues, but less is known about how they influence opinions and behavior. The authors use an experiment to present image and text exemplars of frames from war and conflict news in isolation and in image-text congruent and incongruent pairs. Results show that, when presented alone, images generate stronger framing effects on opinions and behavioral intentions than text. When images and text are presented together, as in a typical news report, the frame carried by the text influences opinions regardless of the accompanying image, whereas the frame carried by the image drives behavioral intentions irrespective of the linked text. These effects are explained by the salience enhancing and emotional consequences of visuals.

Organisation(s)
External organisation(s)
University of Amsterdam (UvA)
Journal
Journal of Communication
Volume
65
Pages
997–1017
No. of pages
21
ISSN
0021-9916
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1111/jcom.12184
Publication date
11-2015
Peer reviewed
Yes
Austrian Fields of Science 2012
508012 Media impact studies
Keywords
ASJC Scopus subject areas
Communication, Language and Linguistics, Linguistics and Language
Portal url
https://ucris.univie.ac.at/portal/en/publications/a-clearer-picture-the-contribution-of-visuals-and-text-to-framing-effects(826ac57a-4253-431e-abc6-9c0e60451026).html