“Social Change” and “Status Quo” Framing Effects on Risk Perception

Abstract

Operating from a guard-dog perspective of the media, this study investigates whether “social change” or “status quo”news frames affected individuals’ risk perceptions, using an experimental design. Participants who read a news story that used the social change frame reported the highest level of risk awareness ( F = 34.88, p = .00), indicating that the way the media frame a story about environmental issues has the potential to influence the audience’s perception of risk.