Framing Responsibility for Political Issues: The Preference for Dispositional Attributions and the Effects of News Frames

Abstract

This study takes an individual differences perspective in explaining framing effects. In an experiment manipulating episodic and thematic framing, the trait preference for dispositional attributions was measured and treated as a quasi-experimental factor. Beside a significant framing effect, the general attributional preference of an individual determined responsibility attributions. However, the trait exerted an impact only in the thematic condition, not in the episodic condition.