Message Framing in the Classroom: The Relationship Between Message Frames and Student Perceptions of Instructor Power

Abstract

This study examined the role of message framing in the classroom and the relationship between different frames and students' perceptions of instructor power use. Requests or expectations offered by instructors may have various meanings for students, depending on the way in which these messages are framed. In turn, these frames may influence various student perceptions and behaviors. Students were presented with the same set of instructor expectations in the form of a hypothetical syllabus, but in one condition, the students' right to choose to comply with the expectations was made more explicit than in the other condition. Students' behavioral intent and their perception of the instructor's use of power bases were measured. The low-choice condition resulted in greater student perceptions of instructor coercive and legitimate power and greater reported intent to comply with one of the three instructor requests that were presented.