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Communication Research
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Issue Importance as a Moderator of Framing Effects

Sophie Lecheler

University of Amsterdam, s.k.lecheler{at}uva.nl

Claes de Vreese

University of Amsterdam, c.h.devreese{at}uva.nl

Rune Slothuus

University of Aarhus, slothuus{at}ps.au.dk

A growing amount of research is devoted to the question of which individual and contextual variables enhance, limit, or obliterate news framing effects. However, the fundamental question whether framing effects vary depending on the issue at stake has not been addressed. Based on two experimental studies (total N = 1,821), this article investigates the extent to which framing effects differ in magnitude as well as process, depending on how important an issue is. The studies show that a high-importance issue yields no effects and a low-importance issue large effects. This moderating function of issue importance operates both at the contextual and at the individual levels. The implications for future framing effects research are discussed.

Key Words: framing effects • moderators • issue importance • attitude strength

This version was published on June 1, 2009

Communication Research, Vol. 36, No. 3, 400-425 (2009)
DOI: 10.1177/0093650209333028
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