Facts Speak Louder? Comparing the attention effects of moral
and factual framing of political issues

J 2025

Facts Speak Louder? Comparing the attention effects of moral and factual framing of political issues

TÓTH, Michal; Tadeáš CELÝ a Roman CHYTILEK

Základní údaje

Originální název

Facts Speak Louder? Comparing the attention effects of moral and factual framing of political issues

Autoři

TÓTH, Michal ; Tadeáš CELÝ a Roman CHYTILEK

Vydání

ELECTORAL STUDIES, London, Elsevier, 2025, 0261-3794

Další údaje

Jazyk

angličtina

Typ výsledku

Článek v odborném periodiku

Obor

50601 Political science

Stát vydavatele

Velká Británie a Severní Irsko

Utajení

není předmětem státního či obchodního tajemství

Odkazy

URL

Impakt faktor

Impact factor: 2.300 v roce 2024

Označené pro přenos do RIV

Ano

Kód RIV

RIV/00216224:14230/25:00144441

Organizační jednotka

Fakulta sociálních studií

Klíčová slova anglicky

Attention; Framing; Facts; Morality; Eye-tracking; Experiment

Štítky

EV_FSS25, rivok

Příznaky

Mezinárodní význam, Recenzováno

Změněno: 1. 1. 2026 11:03, Mgr. Blanka Farkašová

Anotace

V originále

The media and political actors play a crucial role in shaping public attention, not only by selecting which issues to highlight but also by framing them in ways that influence public perception and engagement. Given the increasing prominence of moralized discourse in political communication, we examine whether moral framing is more effective in capturing public attention compared to factual framing, which relies on empirical evidence and rational argumentation. To examine this question, we conducted two preregistered experimental studies using different methods to measure attention: an eye-tracking experiment (N = 99) and a large-scale online survey (N = 1563). Participants were exposed to political issues that are not predominantly associated with either type of framing and were randomly assigned to conditions where the issues were framed either morally or factually. Our findings indicate that moral framing does not consistently attract more attention than factual framing. In fact, in some situations, factual frames were associated with slightly higher levels of audience attention. Understanding these dynamics is crucial in an age of information overload, when competition for public attention is intense and public debate is often dominated by emotional or value-driven messages. Additionally, our research contributes to ongoing debates about the implications of moral framing, particularly its potential to polarize audiences or divert attention from evidence-based decision-making.

Návaznosti

GA23-07985S, projekt VaV

Název: Stejný problém, různá percepce? Experimentální výzkum vlastností politických témat

Investor: Grantová agentura ČR, Stejný problém, různá percepce? Experimentální výzkum vlastností politických témat.

Přiložené soubory

FactsSpeakLouder.pdf

Požádat o autorskou verzi souboru

Citovat

TÓTH, Michal; Tadeáš CELÝ a Roman CHYTILEK. Facts Speak Louder? Comparing the attention effects of moral and factual framing of political issues. ELECTORAL STUDIES. London: Elsevier, 2025, roč. 98, December, s. 1-11. ISSN 0261-3794. Dostupné z: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.electstud.2025.102996.

@article{2518558,
   author = {Tóth, Michal and Celý, Tadeáš and Chytilek, Roman},
   article_location = {London},
   article_number = {December},
   doi = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.electstud.2025.102996},
   keywords = {Attention; Framing; Facts; Morality; Eye-tracking; Experiment},
   language = {eng},
   issn = {0261-3794},
   journal = {ELECTORAL STUDIES},
   title = {Facts Speak Louder? Comparing the attention effects of moral and factual framing of political issues},
   url = {https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0261379425001027},
   volume = {98},
   year = {2025}
}

TY  - JOUR
ID  - 2518558
AU  - Tóth, Michal - Celý, Tadeáš - Chytilek, Roman
PY  - 2025
TI  - Facts Speak Louder? Comparing the attention effects of moral and factual framing of political issues
JF  - ELECTORAL STUDIES
VL  - 98
IS  - December
SP  - 1-11
EP  - 1-11
PB  - Elsevier
SN  - 02613794
KW  - Attention
KW  - Framing
KW  - Facts
KW  - Morality
KW  - Eye-tracking
KW  - Experiment
UR  - https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0261379425001027
N2  - The media and political actors play a crucial role in shaping public attention, not only by selecting which issues to highlight but also by framing them in ways that influence public perception and engagement. Given the increasing prominence of moralized discourse in political communication, we examine whether moral framing is more effective in capturing public attention compared to factual framing, which relies on empirical evidence and rational argumentation. To examine this question, we conducted two preregistered experimental studies using different methods to measure attention: an eye-tracking experiment (N = 99) and a large-scale online survey (N = 1563). Participants were exposed to political issues that are not predominantly associated with either type of framing and were randomly assigned to conditions where the issues were framed either morally or factually. Our findings indicate that moral framing does not consistently attract more attention than factual framing. In fact, in some situations, factual frames were associated with slightly higher levels of audience attention. Understanding these dynamics is crucial in an age of information overload, when competition for public attention is intense and public debate is often dominated by emotional or value-driven messages. Additionally, our research contributes to ongoing debates about the implications of moral framing, particularly its potential to polarize audiences or divert attention from evidence-based decision-making.
ER  -

TÓTH, Michal; Tadeáš CELÝ a Roman CHYTILEK. Facts Speak Louder? Comparing the attention effects of moral and factual framing of political issues. \textit{ELECTORAL STUDIES}. London: Elsevier, 2025, roč.~98, December, s.~1-11. ISSN~0261-3794. Dostupné z: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.electstud.2025.102996.

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