How Americans Think AboutHow Americans Think AboutRural Issues: Findings fromRural Issues: Findings fromThe FrameWorks ResearchThe FrameWorks Research

The Research BaseThe Research Base

30 one-on-one interviews10 each urban, suburban, ruralMaryland, Colorado, Illinois

13 focus groupsNew Hampshire, Arkansas, New Mexico,

Illinois community influentials screen Phone interviews with 50 subjects Phone survey with 3,000+ adults Builds on extensive prior research from Kellogg --

Focus groups, survey research, content analysis, etc.

Rural DystopiaRural DystopiaThe Default Frame of MediaThe Default Frame of Media

“I’ve done some traveling in the South and there the real poverty is devastating. I mean people live in shacks I’ve driven past that looks like if you sneezed it would fall down. Not quite as bad a place as like India, but…”[urban CO male]

Poverty, hardship, hopelessness

BackwardDysfunctionalShiftless, trashy,

inbred, drunkThe Other

Rural UtopiaRural Utopia

Life is simple Poverty is a virtue Encroachment is the

main threat We help each other They chose this

lifestyle Progress is

inevitable

Consequences of the Rural Utopia Frame:Consequences of the Rural Utopia Frame:Poverty Is Not A Rural ProblemPoverty Is Not A Rural Problem

Q: So when you think about poverty in America, would you associate that more with cities or with the country?

A: I think the cities. I think I hear more about it in the cities, the large cities. Although I take stuff to the mission down here [in a small Colorado town] and I know there’s plenty of poor people down there…I mean the inner city, that’s where to me, I think you have more poverty. [rural CO woman]

Well, I’d rather be poor in the country than I would in the city. I feel very sorry for people that have very bad incomes and live in the city. I really don’t know what, how they manage. Whereas in the country, you can just go outside and smell the grass and..I really don’t have much feeling of how they cope with it. I feel terribly sorry for them and I think it’s very sad. [rural CO woman]

Q: Do you think there tends to be more poverty in rural parts of the country or more in the cities?

A: I think more in the cities, like out here [in suburban Colorado], I don’;t really see many homeless people, but like in the city, there’s tons of them.

Q: Okay. But in rural areas you figure people probably aren’t so poor?A: Or they go to the city. I don’t know. Like they might be struggling, but I mean

they’re not like to the verge of poverty, I guess. [suburban CO woman]

Consequences of the Rural Utopia Frame:Consequences of the Rural Utopia Frame:Poverty Is Not A Rural ProblemPoverty Is Not A Rural Problem

Rural peopleOwn landWork hardSelf sufficientEnnobling

Urban peopleAre dispossessedDon’t workNeedy, Hand out

Life is SimpleLife is SimpleI'm thinking in a rural neighborhood, life is much simpler… [It’s not about] the latest color of eyeshadow that came out, which is what a city need is, or, in suburbia it's that wine that you need for dinner. I mean, not that not that people in rural neighborhoods are light-years behind anybody else, I mean, but there's probably a smaller selection, so their needs are probably more basic… I'm not saying that as a put-down, I think that's something people need to revert back to. I'm all for it. You know? Eliminate all the 20 different products of one thing, you know, we don't need it. [suburban IL woman]

We Help Each OtherWe Help Each OtherA Rural Code of Ethics

Do whatever you can for yourself

When things get tough, sacrifice and do with less

When necessary, help friends, family and neighbors

Only truly dysfunctional people would need outside help

Intervention is not respectful

They Chose This LifestyleThey Chose This Lifestyle

“I don’t think farmers are being exploited, because it’s a choice. They’ve chosen to do that as where their passion is or how they want to live.” [suburban IL man]“If you don’t like being the country, why don’t you go somewhere else?” [urban informant]

Consequences of the Rural Utopia Frame:Consequences of the Rural Utopia Frame:Encroachment as the Main ThreatEncroachment as the Main Threat

Progress is inevitable Save the Family Farm = Save the Whales Precious resources to be mined till gone vs.

disrupted systems Leads to Museum Stance and tourists in the

rural landscape

Consequences of the FramesConsequences of the Frames

ForegroundSimplicitySelf-sufficiencyChoiceSaving/preserving(Invisible) poverty

ConclusionDon’t spoil itDon’t interfereMoveMuseum mindsetThe way things

are supposed to be

Six Focus Group ReframesSix Focus Group Reframes

1. In the Path of Progress: Preserving Yorkville (dominant frame of museum mindset/inevitability)

2. Rural Poverty (dominant frame of problem/deficits)3. Innovation in the Heartland (innovation/ingenuity,

diversity, help from outside)4. We are All Connected – Boundaries Blend Between

Rural and Urban Areas (systems)5. Outside Forces Breaking the Small Town Economy

(cause and effect)6. Restoring Main Street (vitality, cause and effect)

In the Path of Progress:In the Path of Progress:Preserving YorkvillePreserving YorkvilleLike small towns everywhere, Yorkville is struggling with how to adjust to progress. People who live in the area have mixed views on the new housing developments sprouting up. “It’s some of the greatest land in the world,k and it’s gone forever..We’ll look just like every other shopping mall in America,” says Frank Ahrens. “There is going to be growth. We need to try to make it happen the way we want it to, a balanced approach,” says city administrator. “Life is hard everywhere, but especially for rural people,” says resident. Currently the town council and state legislature are debating options to preserve Yorkville’s small town character, including zoning restrictions, grants for historic preservation of buildings, and tax subsidies for small businesses.

Familiar story/script People in rural areas

conflicted over future Progress is inevitable Focuses attention on

rural as place not people Sets up museum

mindset Keep it quaint so I can

retire there Gets us nowhere

Rural PovertyRural PovertyLack of opportunities has led to entrenched poverty in many areas. “You’ve got counties where there are no jobs and the income is below poverty level, so you have groups trafficking in drugs who take advantage of that, and you have local sheriffs and small-town police chiefs who have limited resources,” said Sam Brown, a local law enforcement officer. Poverty, matched with isolation, has created other problems as well. Health care and an opportunity for a college education are non-existent in many rural areas. Rev. Zach Wear seeks to improve conditions. “We need to invest in developing a rural economy that prevents health problems. Housing, transportation, work environment – these are as important to rural health as hospitals. A coalition of community leaders is headed to the state capitol to request funding for infrastructure development and regional planning grants.

Familiar story Have heard crime is a

problem in rural areas

Like the idea of prevention

Don’t know what to do with this story

Gets us nowhere on policies

Innovation in the HeartlandInnovation in the HeartlandIn the midst of serene landscapes and small towns where everybody knows everyone’s name, there is a new, innovative rural America that is emerging. There is a new type of barn-raising occurring in Springfield, a town of less than 15,k000 residents. This past week more than 100 residents came together to crate a computer center in the local middle school. “People think of farms when they think of rural places,” explained Ann Wilson, a spokesperson with the Alliance for Technology Access. “But farming only employs a small percentage of people. Many rural areas actually have more self-employed people than urban areas and they rely upon the success of small businesses that funnel resources back into the community. At this computer center, we’ll be providing training and resources that will help small businesses thrive and train our young people for jobs that won’t require them to move away to other states.” State Senator Carl Morgan said, “Legislatures need to look at rural areas in a new way, and work with them to bring the education and jobs here that they need to thrive.”

Mixed performance See technology as a way to

improve education and opportunity

BUT allows kids to get jobs in other places

Reinforces rural people as backwards

Challenged to extend advantage beyond school to whole community

Why should my money go to those places? (zero sum mentality with product)

Performs better frames less about innovation and more about empowerment, taking charge of own destiny

FrameWorks Conclusions on FrameWorks Conclusions on Rural ReframesRural Reframes

Patterns To Contest People in rural and

nonrural areas are essentially different

Life in rural and nonrural areas is essentially different

Rural problems are the price of a lifestyle that is privileged in other ways

Life in rural and nonrural areas is essentially disconnected

Goals of Reframes Rural people are much

like us Rural life is comparable

to life elsewhere Rural poverty is not the

price of spiritual and physical healthy

Rural areas are connected with the reset of the country

Elements of a Successful Reframe Elements of a Successful Reframe for Rural Issuesfor Rural Issues Reinforce a sense of interdependence or mutual fate to build

support for rural policies, not just nice memories of childhood or a vacation

Avoid the strong default frames associated with rural: dystopia, utopia, different, plight, choice, mobility, individual responsibility

Stress similarities, not differences, between regions Explain the problem in ways that are vivid, manageable and

fixable – simplifying model, causal sequences, ecological explanations, etc.

Explain the problem in ways that show disconnection as a disruption in a structure or system that damages the whole

Make the solution prominent and show that it can be done Create an efficacious role for rural people as well as citizens

generally in the solution; be explicit in the role that government plays and can play

Verifying and Extending the Verifying and Extending the LearningLearning

Simplifying Models Development

The Priming Survey

Simplifying Models ResearchSimplifying Models Research

Axel Aubrun, Ph.D.Joe Grady, Ph.D.

Why doesn’t the Public take Why doesn’t the Public take responsibility for public interest responsibility for public interest issues?issues?

People are small-minded and uncaring.

A cognitive rather than a moral failure – they don’t understand what their responsibility could be.

Public Interest Issues where Public Interest Issues where progress is slow:progress is slow:

Global warmingThe uninsuredFarmers’ use of toxic herbicidesWorkplace injuriesCollapse of ocean ecosystemsNegative influences on early

childhood development Rural issues

Abstract Systems vs. EASAbstract Systems vs. EAS

A Cognitive MismatchA Cognitive Mismatch

???

Abstract Abstract SystemSystem

EASEAS

The Public Defaults to Everyday The Public Defaults to Everyday Action ScenariosAction Scenarios

Locking away guns“Don’t put your hand between the

rollers”

Making a donation

The Responsible Mind: A Cognitive The Responsible Mind: A Cognitive ViewView

In order to take responsibility you have to be able to picture yourself as an actor in a system/scenario.

Engaging the Responsible Mind: Engaging the Responsible Mind: Simplifying ModelsSimplifying Models

Ozone Depletion as a “Hole in the Roof”

Simplifying ModelsSimplifying Models

Put the public in the pictureAre non-partisanHave lasting effects on thinkingInoculate against manipulationHave the potential to spreadAre ethical

Case Study:Case Study:Global WarmingGlobal Warming

The “Adapationist” ResponseThe “Adapationist” Response

(A) Burning Fossil Fuels(A) Burning Fossil Fuels(B) CO2 Buildup(B) CO2 Buildup(C) CO2 Traps Heat(C) CO2 Traps Heat(D) Temperature Rise(D) Temperature Rise(E) Negative Consequences(E) Negative Consequences

The “Missing Link” in the Public’s Understanding

TalkBack ChainsTalkBack Chains

Cognitive test vs. Taste test

Explanatory paragraph and clarification Passing the information along to next

“link” No notesWorking in pairs

TalkBack ChainsTalkBack Chains

Videotaped for later analysis Can subjects pass along learning

(terms and concepts) to others?A severe test – opportunities for

distortion, degradation Best results include self-

correction, elaboration

Recommended Recommended Simplifying ModelSimplifying Model

Carbon Dioxide Blanket

A “physical” objectFocuses on main cognitive hurdleNot too metaphoricalDisplaces Ozone Layer in people’s

thinking

Using a Simplifying ModelUsing a Simplifying Model

“When we burn fossil fuels like coal and gas, we pump more and more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, and this build-up creates a blanket effect, trapping in heat around the world.”

Use early

Repeat often, in different variants

Stanley Greenberg, Robert Boorstin Toward a Political Framework for Global

Warming

“Our baseline research took as its starting point the FrameWorks conclusion that using simple explanatory models to explain global warming has a strong, positive impact on driving up levels of concern about the issue. This baseline survey strongly confirms the FrameWorks finding. Rarely, in fact, does research provide such clear directions.”

Simplifying Models and Rural Simplifying Models and Rural AmericaAmerica

Goal: To help the public understand more about rural America, in order to raise support for a range of policies aimed at helping the population living there.

Cognitive ObstaclesCognitive Obstacles

Life / People in rural areas are fundamentally different.

Rural America is a different “dimension,” not connected to our own.

Rural America is simple, systemless.Rural people have made a choice.

Not, that rural people aren’t worth helping

Telephone InterviewsTelephone Interviews

50 subjectsDiverse in terms of gender,

ethnicity, age, geographic region15 minute conversationsExplanatory paragraph, followed

by discussionQualitative

Current Approach:Current Approach:Assets and ChallengesAssets and Challenges

America's rural communities possess many valuable assets. Prominent among them are hard-working people who understand and value the culture and environment of their native place. They combine America’s best traditions with its most impressive ingenuity. At the same time, people in rural areas face significant challenges that the rest of America often doesn’t recognize. These problems include widespread job loss; decline in personal income; the loss of young people moving out; and continuing persistent poverty.

Conceptual Direction 1:Conceptual Direction 1:(Unnaturally) Isolated (Unnaturally) Isolated Regions/CommunitiesRegions/Communities

Tourniquet EffectTourniquet Effect

Experts feel that large areas of America are suffering from what they call the "Tourniquet Effect." Less populated counties and smaller towns are being cut off from the rest of the country, as factory jobs and small farms disappear. When the economic ties that link these regions to the rest of the country are choked off, the normal flow of money, people, and services that keep these vital regions alive is interrupted. This Tourniquet Effect is turning healthy areas into unhealthy ones.

Conceptual Direction 2:Conceptual Direction 2:Breakdown within Breakdown within Regions/CommunitiesRegions/Communities

Community CollapseCommunity Collapse

Experts feel that large regions of America are suffering from what they call “Community Collapse.” In smaller towns and less populated counties, the connections and institutions that link people together are breaking down. The disappearance of factory jobs and small farms means that people are forced to leave these areas – and as they go, the local economies, educational systems, transportation systems, and social structures become weak and collapse. This breakdown is self-perpetuating, because as community collapse continues, more people leave.

““Easily” Adopted ModelsEasily” Adopted Models

Stranding – Rural areas cut off Emptying – People leaving rural

areasBreakdown – internal to rural

communitiesWithering – of rural communities

Sample ResponsesSample Responses

Smaller areas are being choked because jobs are being taken away.

When rural regions are left without employment or job opportunities, they start to wither away.

A Central ChallengeA Central Challenge

Evoking Rural America tends to exclude economic and other systemic mechanisms from people’s thinking.

Evoking economic and social factors tends to exclude Rural America from people’s thinking.

The Priming SurveyThe Priming Survey

Public Knowleddge LLC

MethodMethod

Three priming experiments: The Fairness FrameThe Fairness Frame states rural areas are states rural areas are

struggling because they are not given a fair share struggling because they are not given a fair share of the nation’s resources. of the nation’s resources.

The Cooperation FrameThe Cooperation Frame highlights the highlights the challenges facing the nation as a whole; the challenges facing the nation as a whole; the solution is for all regions to work together. solution is for all regions to work together.

The Interdependence FrameThe Interdependence Frame states that the states that the nation is one entity that is being affected by nation is one entity that is being affected by declining rural areas; the solution is to reconnect declining rural areas; the solution is to reconnect rural areas which will benefit the nation. rural areas which will benefit the nation.

Simplifying Model experiment

Method (continued)Method (continued)

After each prime, all survey respondents answer the same indicator questions: Policy prioritiesPolicy priorities Attitudinal shiftsAttitudinal shifts

By comparing these responses to the responses of a control group, we can see the effects of each frame on attitudes and policy support.

First Experimt

Control

N=1000

Frame 1: FairnessN=700

Frame 2: Cooperation

N=700

Frame 3: Interdependce

N=700

Prime Frame

No priming Test language to prime frame: job rating; issue concern; statement

Indicators Rate Policy Priorities on a 0-10 Scale

Re-prime No priming Test language to re-prime frame: satisfaction with efforts

Indicators Attitudes: importance; government responsibility

Second Experiment

None Model None

Model None

Model None

Model

Indicators Rate Policy Priorities on a 0-10 Scale

Re-prime None Test language intro

None

Test language

intro

None

Test language

intro

None

Test language

intro

Indicators Attitudes: cooperation; outside interference; inevitable progress

Demographics

Current OpinionCurrent Opinion

Most believe it is important to prioritize small towns and rural areas. Impt Ext.

Small towns and rural areas 63% 18%Cities and urban areas 58% 17%Suburban areas 48% 11%

Current OpinionCurrent Opinion

Responsibility for addressing rural concerns rests with local and state government, not federal. Responsible A Lot

Local government 91% 65%State government 88% 51%Federal government 71% 27%

Current OpinionCurrent Opinion

“The challenges and opportunities in small towns and rural areas will affect the nation so we must address their issues together.” 84% agree, 48% strongly84% agree, 48% strongly

“Progress will inevitably destroy small towns and rural areas, so there is little that can be done to help them now.” 79% disagree, 50% strongly79% disagree, 50% strongly

“People in small towns and rural areas are capable of handling their own problems, so outside interference should be discouraged.” 45% agree, 52% disagree45% agree, 52% disagree

Policy Priority – Average Rating on a 10-Point Scale

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Federal rural agency

Regional smart-growth strategies

Expand high-speed Internet

More government contracts and jobs

Regional anchors for development

Develop the biofuels industry

Transition to organic farming

Expand Internet in rural schools

Scholarships to teachers

Incentives for small businesses

Invest in emerging industries

Medical school scholarships

Address environment

Develop high-quality education

Increase the availability of healthcare

Priming ExperimentsPriming Experiments

Fairness FrameFairness FrameIn this country, we believe that all Americans should have the same opportunities. But the reality is that people in small towns and rural places are not enjoying the same benefits as the rest of the nation. In fact, nearly all of the poorest counties in the nation are in rural America, and the divide between urban and rural prosperity is becoming greater. This happens because the efforts that enhance a community’s well-being, like economic development, availability of healthcare programs, and opportunities for a good education, have disproportionately benefited metropolitan areas. People in rural areas have proven they have ingenuity and a desire to work hard; they just need the same resources to succeed. We need to level the playing field and make sure that those parts of the country that are at a disadvantage get their fair share of opportunities.

Fairness FrameFairness Frame

Priority of meeting the needs of small towns and rural areas

Responsibility of federal government

Responsibility of state government Outside interference Priority of three policies

Interdependence FrameInterdependence Frame

In this country, we believe that what affects Americans in one part of the nation affects us all and that we will only succeed when all parts of the nation are in good shape. We have a unique opportunity to move ahead as a country through creating good jobs and economic opportunity, improving education, reforming healthcare, and strengthening communities. Indicators of well-being suggest that small towns and rural places are breaking down and the effect is spreading to the well-being of the nation as a whole. This is happening because the efforts that enhance a community’s well-being, like economic development, availability of health care programs, and opportunities for a good education, have disproportionately benefited metropolitan areas, which results in cutting rural places off from opportunities. We can prevent further damage by working together to reconnect the skills and resources that exist in the nation’s heartland, which will then reverberate throughout the nation.

Interdependence FrameInterdependence Frame

Priority of meeting the needs of small towns and rural areas

Responsibility of federal government Responsibility of local government Interdependent thinking Outside interference Priority of two policies

Audiences of OpportunityAudiences of Opportunity

FairnessYounger womenRural residentsDemocratsMinoritiesMenSoutherners

InterdependenceYounger womenRural residentsIndependentsCaucasiansYounger men

Simplifying ModelSimplifying Model

Experts say that vast areas of America are suffering from what they call the "Tourniquet Effect." The loss of factory jobs, small farms and small businesses in rural areas has the effect of cutting off the normal circulation between those regions and the rest of the country. When the normal flow of money, people, and services that link urban and rural regions together is choked off, rural areas are left stranded and withering, and the Tourniquet Effect makes the country as a whole less healthy. When the tourniquet is loosened by the reestablishment of economic and other ties, the critical flow of money, people and services is restored and the whole country benefits.

Simplifying ModelSimplifying Model

Interdependent thinking Outside interference ▬Progress is inevitable Particularly effective with college-

educated and Republican respondentsShows more beneficial effects when

combined with Fairness or Interdependence values frames

ConclusionsConclusions

The Cooperation Frame results in no beneficial movement in opinion.

The Fairness and Interdependence Frames, and the Simplifying Model create beneficial effects, with different audiences of opportunity.

There is synergy between these elements; combine into one cohesive story.

© FrameWorks Institute, 2004This presentation was developed for individual use and cannot be presented, adapted, reproduced or distributed without the express written permission of the FrameWorks Institute. All images in this presentation are licensed for the purpose of this presentation only and may not be reproduced elsewhere. Standard rules of citation and intellectual property apply to all research findings contained herein; extensive quotation requires written permission from the FrameWorks Institute. Rural research was supported by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation; the interpretations of research results are solely those of the FrameWorks Institute.