The Influence of Framing and Priming on Attitudes Towards the Green New Deal

• In Event: Reconsidering the New Deal Legacy and Public Support for Welfare

Abstract

This paper seeks to examine the influence of issue framing and identity priming on preference formation. A previous study conducted by the researcher examined the effects of framing and priming on attitudes towards the Green New Deal and found that by threatening the racial identity of white Republicans and framing climate change in terms of the economic consequences for the United States, support for the Green New Deal increased. In this newer study, an experimental survey is used to frame climate change in terms of the consequences the US economy will face if nothing is done to mitigate its effects. In addition, participants’ racial identity and party identification are primed by threatening those identities. Results indicate that combining the economy issue frame with the identity primes does not increase support for the Green New Deal. In fact, the racial threat prime combined with the economic issue frame actually decreases support for the Green New Deal. Partisanship is the strongest indicator for how an individual will form an opinion on a political issue which may be a reason for why no amount of framing of an issue or the priming of identities will change the attitudes towards a Democratic resolution. The paper concludes with a discussion on future research that can be undertaken.

Author

• Nelson Enrique Quezada Herrera, Stetson University