Frames, scripts, scenarios, models, spaces and other animals: Bridging conceptual divides between the cognitive, social and computationalDominik Lukeš, @techczech http://metaphorhacker.net

Caveats

Avoid reduction through redescription. I.e. Don’t call things in other disciplines a frame and claim to have solved their problems.

Differentiate between hermeneutics and heuristics. I.e. principles of understanding are distinct from methods of arriving at that understanding.

What is a frame?

“Structure of expectation” Tannen, 1993

“frames are basic cognitive structures which guide the perception and representation of reality” Interpretation of Goffmanhttp://www.ccsr.ac.uk/methods/publications/frameanalysis/

Mostly overlapping concepts

Frame (Goffman, Lakoff, Schon)Idealized Cognitive Model (Lakoff)Mental Model (cognitive pscyhologists)Mental Space (Fauconnier)World (text world, possible world) - (Werth)

Partially overlapping concepts

SchemaScriptScenarioDomainFooting (Goffman)Prototype (psychology)Exemplar (phonology)PresuppositionMetaphor (Outward bound)Gestalt (psychology)Construct (as in constructivist psychology)Case (as in "case-based reasoning")StereotypePerspectiveAbility to see something in a ____ way

Concepts relying on something like a frame

Discourse (as in "dominant discourses")Narrative (as in "prevailing narrative", "fit into a narrative")Family resemblanceEpisodic memoryPrimingIdentityCognitive dissonanceContestationConstructionHistorical memoryFolk theoryTheoryParadigmMetanarrativeFoucault's archeology of the mindCultureGrammar (as in “grammar of schooling”)Archetype (psychology)PersuasionPrejudicesThe OtherHistorical ImaginationMythRole model

Disciplines using frame-like concepts

Artificial IntelligenceEthnography/AnthropologyArt historyCognitive psychologySocial psychologyLinguisticsSociologyHistory of scienceTherapeutic psychologyLogicPolitical theoryBehavioral economics Media theory

RhetoricLawPedagogyOrganization studiesPolicy studies

What is a frame?

Fundamental non-atomic element of mental, social, emotional and physical action susceptible to mental operations similar to those intuitively described as reasoning.

Fundamental basic-level unit of mental representation.

Both conscious and unconscious.

What does a frame look like?

Idealized Cognitive Model is not a bad start.

Enriched by episodic memory, discursive psychology, social anthropology, and corpus linguistics

Propositional aspectsImage aspectsFigurative aspectsMeronymic aspectsMetacognitive aspects

DefinitionsNarrativesRich imagesImage schemasMetaphorsAnalogiesCollocationsLinks to related conceptsAwareness of social links

What does a frame do as part of reasoning?

Something like blending theory is a good start but needs input from discursive psychology and social psychology.

What does a frame do as part of human action?

Construction grammar is a good start.

Frames are the semantic poles of meaning/form links in symbolic units.

What is missing from most frame theories?

Notion of an inventory of frames and inventory only propertiesHypostasis and negotiation (frame negotiation) Social as well as psychological dimensionVariation in accessibilityAcquisition

Examples of framing and frame analysis

Since 2002, it has been the official practice at Fox News to refer to attacks like the one at Moscow’s Domodedovo airport this week, in which a bomber blows himself up along with his victims, as “homicide bombings.” In adopting the terminology, Fox took its cues from the Bush White House, which felt the more commonly used “suicide bombings” gave undue attention to the fate of the bomber.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/jeffbercovici/2011/01/26/fox-news-cant-keep-its-made-up-propaganda-words-straight/

bombingKilling of people. Done at a distance. Unlawful connotation unless by military.suicideKilling of self. Usually in private by individual means. For personal reason. Connotations of sadness and grief.

suicide bombingKilling of people. Done by an individual carrying a bomb. Likely to die in the attack. Associated with people belonging to movements. Negative connotations.

Associated with discursive practices not inherited from those of suicide. The homicide aspect of bombing takes over.

homicide bombingRemoves explicitly possibility of recovering frame aspects (discursive practices) blended away in suicide bombing.

inside the structure of military rhetoric, a 'suicide mission' occupies a place of honor: to sacrifice one's life for the cause is regarded as noble, by the partisans of 'war.' Think of the Alamo, or the 300...

A suicide bomber partakes in some of the "Lost Cause" nobility.

Whereas a "homicide" bomber may (must?) be regarded merely as a murderous psychopath. There is no chance that the act could be thought "noble." A "homicide" bomber cannot be a martyr...

http://thewell-armedlamb.blogspot.co.uk/2010/01/homicide-bomber-vs-suicide-bomber-whats.html

What knowledge is required to make sense of frame blends?

I teach civil warI teach public policy I teach FrenchI teach shootingI teach guns

What is the nature of knowledge necessary to interpret framing.

fruit dumplingsmeat dumplings bread dumplingspotato dumplings cheese-curd dumplingshairy dumplings

Interplay of propositional knowledge, force dynamics, scale schemas, rich images.

The Normans conquered BritainThe Browns conquered BritainThe Beatles conquered Britain

Nazi Holocaust Jewish Holocaust Hungarian HolocaustSpanish Holocaust

I drink too much, last time I gave a urine sample, it had an olive in it.

Rodney Dangerfield

I learned this summer that peeing in the pool and peeing INTO the pool are very different things.

Demetri Martin

Conclusion: Why are frames useful?

Non-reductionist analysis of issues in the humanities

Remind us what else to look for in the conceptualizations. E.g. schemas have associated rich images, narratives, and propositional content.

Prevent debates about questions assuming traditional concepts requiring logical operations are at play. For instance definitions.

Further research needed?

Cognitive psychology of framingMemory of framesPrimingHabituation and embodimentIndividual variationFrame negotiation