The frequency of government foreign aid decisions influenced by pubic opinion has risen dramatically in the past few years.This study looks at the effect of issue framing on support for U.S. spending on HIV/AIDS in developing countries—specifically, at how support changes when the phrase foreign aid is included or omitted from a survey question. Analyses reveal a significant effect of issue framing for women and Democrats. Omitting the phrase foreign aid is associated with increased support for U.S. spending among Democrats and decreased support among women. Regardless of issue framing, blacks, Hispanics, and more educated individuals support U.S. spending on HIV/AIDS in developing countries. However, when forced to decide between funds' going overseas for HIV/AIDS in developing countries or remaining in the United States, all respondents overwhelmingly support monies' being used in the United States.
Banks, S.M., P. Salovey, S. Greener, A.J. Rothman, A. Moyer, J. Beauvais, and E. Epel.1995. “The Effects of Message Framing on Mammography Utilization.” Health Psychology14(2):178-84.
2.
Blendon, R., and M. Brodie.1997. “Public Opinion and Health Policy .” In Health Politics and Policy, ed. Theodore Litman and Leonard Robins . Albany, NY: Delmar.
3.
Chicago Council on Foreign Relations (CCFR).2002. “World Views 2002:American Public Opinion and Public Policy. ”http://thechicagocouncil.org/UserFiles/File/2002_US_Report.pdf.
4.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).2002. “HIV/AIDS among Hispanics.” CDC National Center for HIV, STD and TB Prevention Divisions of HIV/AIDS Prevention .
5.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).2003. Basic Statistics: HIV. CDC National Center for HIV, STD and TB Prevention Divisions of HIV/AIDS Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/topics/surveillance/basic.htm.
6.
Druckman, J.2001. “On the Limits of Framing Effects:Who Can Frame? ” The Journal of Politics63 (4):1041-66.
7.
Duncan, G.1984. Years of Poverty,Years of Plenty:The Changing Economic Fortunes of American Workers and Their Families. Ann Arbor, MI: Institute for Social Research.
8.
Fiorina, M.1981. Retrospective Voting in American National Elections. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
9.
Gilens, M.1999. Why Americans Hate Welfare. Chicago : University of Chicago Press.
10.
Holsti, O.1996. Public Opinion and American Foreign Policy. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.
11.
Hurwitz, J., and M. Peffley.1987. “How Are Foreign Policy Attitudes Structured? A Hierarchical Model.” American Political Science Review81(4):1099-1120.
12.
Jacobs, L., and R. Shapiro.1994. “Public Opinion's Tilt against Private Enterprise.” Health Affairs21(1):285-98.
13.
Jacoby, W.2000. “Issue Framing and Public Opinion on Government Spending.” American Journal of Political Science44(4):750-67.
14.
John Doble Research Associates.1996. “ Mission Uncertain: Reassessing America's Global Role.” New Jersey: National Issues Forum Institute.
15.
Kull, S., and I.M. Destler.2000. Misreading the Public: The Myth of a New Isolationism. Washington, D.C.: Brookings Institution.
16.
Marteau, T.M.1989. “Framing of Information: Its Influence upon Decisions of Doctors and Patients.” British Journal of Social Psychology28:89-94.
17.
Meyerowitz, B.E., and S. Chaiken.1987. “The Effect of Message Framing on Breast Self-Examination Attitudes, Intentions, and Behavior.” Journal of Perspectives onSocial Psychology52(3):500-10.
18.
Monroe, A.1973. “Consistency between Public Preferences and National Policy Decisions.” American Politics Quarterly7:3-19.
19.
Page, B., and R. Shapiro.1983. “Effects of Public Opinion on Policy.” American Political Science Review77:175-90.
20.
Page, B., and R. Shapiro.1992. The Rational Public: Fifty Years of Trends in Americans' Policy Preferences. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
21.
Rhodebeck, L.1993. “The Politics of Greed? Political Preferences among the Elderly.” Journal of Politics55:342-64.
22.
Rivers, S.E., P. Salovey, D.A. Pizarro, J. Pizarro, and T.R. Schneider.2005. “Message Framing and Pap Test Utilization among Women Attending a Community Health Clinic.” Journal of Health Psychology10(1):65-77.
23.
Rothman, A.J., and P. Salovey.1997. “Shaping Perceptions to Motivate Healthy Behavior: The Role of Message Framing.” Psychological Bulletin121(1):3-19.
24.
Rothman, A.J., P. Salovey, C. Antone, K. Keough, and C.D. Martin.1993. “The Influence of Message Framing on Intentions to Perform Health Behaviors.” Journal of Experimental Social Psychology29:408-33.
25.
Schneider, A., and H. Ingram.1990. “Behavioral Assumptions of Policy Tools. ” Journal of Politics52:510-29.
26.
Schuman, H., and S. Presser.1981. Questions and Answers in Attitude Surveys: Experiments on Questions Form,Wording and Context. San Diego, CA: Academic Press.
27.
Sobel, R.2001. The Impact of Public Opinion in U.S. Foreign Policy since Vietnam. New York: Oxford University Press.
28.
Tate, K., ed. 1993. From Protest to Politics: The New Black Voters in American Elections. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.
29.
Wittkopf, E.1990. Faces of Internationalism: Public Opinion and American Foreign Policy. Durham, NC: Duke University Press.
