Does metaphorical framing really work?

[salvorhardin]

Does the language we use affect how we make decisions? OTM talks to psychologist Lera Boroditsky who describes a very cool experiment she did that suggests the metaphors used to describe a crime wave have a very real impact on how people choose to deal with rising crime irrespective of the facts.

Audio is available now. Transcript will be posted Monday afternoon.

While editors and journalists worry about whether a simple word choice could influence their readers, politicians take another tack. They use metaphors all the time, explicitly in order to persuade people to view things their way. Lera Boroditsky, a psychology professor at Stanford University, conducted an experiment to see just whether this kind of metaphorical framing really works.

Link: http://onthemedia.org/transcripts/2011/03/04/02

[mdmc]

1. do words / language have power?

[annabanana]

2. Sounds to me like a question for

[cognoscere]

5. Great image, but that line below it is fantastic. I can't wait to use it on the

next asshat who is against health care reform.

[Cirque du So-What]

3. Of course metaphorical framing matters!

Interesting that the researcher points to the wingnuts' attempt to foist the metaphor of 'Freedom Fries' upon the public as the ultimate definition of FAIL. Dumbasses! They created an association between 'French' and 'freedom' - the exact opposite of their intentions. And we're losing the ideological war of words to these idjits?!? For SHAME!

[salvorhardin]

4. It's good to test these sorts of assumptions though, for a variety of reasons

It's good to know whether framing is just a neat theory or if it actually works. And if it works then how? That helps us improve the craft and impact of our own language. But it also allows us to recognize more easily when someone is trying to intentionally steer us toward a desired response.

[Jackpine Radical]

6. Not to mention LaFayette, the French Revolution,

liberté, égalité, fraternité and all that.

[bemildred]

7. Metaphorical framing is the mother's milk of all social interaction.

Language is never "objective". This seems obvious to me, but it can be hard to see how your reactions are being managed by linguistic framing.