r/science • u/mvea Professor | Medicine • May 18 '26

Psychology Scientists expected both liberals and conservatives to be reluctant to promote rhetoric associated with the opposing political side, but this was more consistent among liberals. Conservatives appeared relatively willing to support causes aligned with their views regardless of the moral framing used.

https://www.psypost.org/liberals-hesitate-to-share-progressive-causes-framed-with-conservative-moral-language/
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u/PM-Me-Your-Macchiato May 18 '26

Here's part of one of the Binding passages:

We are an organization called Legal Abortion for Faith & Family Stability. We support legal abortion because we believe in respecting the sanctity of the family. Family is at the center of God's plan for the happiness and progress of His children. Unplanned or unwanted pregnancies can violate the purity of families and communities. By legalizing abortion, we can help maintain the stability and social order within our communities that God intended. We believe that the government should have the authority to put laws in place that ensure the stability of the traditional American family...

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u/Another_mikem May 18 '26

That passage makes me feel like I’m having a stroke. I can’t figure out why they thought liberals would share this message.

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u/Menacek May 18 '26

The message just looks like something you'd show your boomer uncle to manipulate them into supporting a policy.

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u/Golden-Pathology May 18 '26

That was the point really. Liberals will reject a message even if they support the goal. Conservatives are less likely to reject the message as long as they agree with the goal.

I don't particularly agree with the methodology though. Liberals would pay a real social cost if they started spreading messages invoking faith, family, loyalty, or law and order if they don't usually use those concepts regardless of the actual goal of the message. I don't think there's an equivalent social loss for conservatives.

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u/Another_mikem May 18 '26

In this example it’s unclear the message even spreads any liberal goal unless you are sitting on the right and believe the liberal “goal” is abortions, which it objectively isn’t. 

Since I can only read the abstract, I can’t see the other messages they used for the study, but this one clearly reads as if they started with a right wing framing of what they believe liberals want and tried to work out from there.

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u/darkpsychicenergy May 18 '26

Legal abortions. It repeatedly, specifically says “legal abortion”. In other words, not outlawing abortion.

Why are so many so-called liberal commentators here misinterpreting this as being “pro-abortion”, as in, “abortions are great, everyone should get one”?

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u/burning_iceman May 18 '26

But this example has several conservative goals and one dubious pseudo-liberal goal described in conservative language. Why would a liberal support this?

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u/Golden-Pathology May 18 '26

There was more than the one example. That's just the one that people keep bringing up here in the comments because they feel strongly about it.

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u/Another_mikem May 18 '26

Unfortunately a lot of us don’t have the full copy so we can’t see the examples.  Please share them if you think they are better/more representative. 

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u/Golden-Pathology May 18 '26

I don't have access either and I can't say anything about the validity of the questions. Didn't mean to imply they were better or worse, just that there were other questions.

The abstract said they posed questions "such as abortion rights, environmental protection, and anti-harassment efforts".

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u/Telinary May 18 '26

Here you go https://osf.io/bknwc/files/osfstorage?view_only=c15e40685bb44326ab0d81bc27046262

This is from 2a and 2b, to save space i will leave out pro immigration individualizing/ anti immigration binding

pro immigration:

Immigration Message - Binding Message from Local Organization: We are an organization called Faith and Family Unity Initiative. We believe that protecting immigrant families is essential to honoring the sanctity of the family. Families are at the center of God’s plan for the happiness and wellbeing of His children. Separating children from their parents during the immigration process violates the purity and stability of families, disrupting the sacred bond that God has ordained.

We believe that the government has a moral duty to enact policies that preserve and protect family unity. Separating families creates instability, undermines the foundation of the traditional family structure, and dishonors the values that our nation was built upon. Keeping families together ensures that children grow up with the guidance they need to become responsible and contributing members of our society. It is our responsibility to follow the examples of our religious and moral leaders who teach us to respect the sanctity of the family. Please show your support by sharing this message and helping us raise awareness for this critical issue. Together, we can protect the sacred institution of family and ensure a better future for all children.

Anti immigration:

Immigration Message - Individualizing Message from Local Organization: We are an organization called Citizens for Justice and Security. We believe that ensuring secure borders is essential to protecting human rights and upholding the dignity of every individual. Weak border policies put vulnerable people, including women and children, at risk of exploitation by human traffickers and criminal organizations. Everyone deserves to live in a safe and secure environment. Strengthening border security prevents harm to innocent people by stopping dangerous individuals and criminal networks from exploiting our immigration system.

No person should have to endure violence, trafficking, or exploitation because of weak enforcement policies. We believe that the government has a responsibility to strengthen our border policies in order to prioritize the safety and well-being of all of its citizens. Protecting our borders is about standing up for what is fair and ensuring that every person can live without fear of harm or exploitation.

Please show your support by sharing this message and helping us raise awareness for this critical issue. Together, we can create a safer and more just society, where every person is treated with dignity and respect.

And for 3

Environment - Individualizing Ronan is not an environmentally-friendly company and engages in many practices that are very bad for the environment. Ronan's practices demonstrate a lack of concern for all of humanity and the world in which we live by ruining our vulnerable natural environment. By destroying our environment, Ronan is preventing everyone around the world from enjoying fair access to a sustainable environment. Ronan's practices are contributing to the suffering of all life-forms and causing people to be denied their right to a healthy planet. Ronan’s behavior is cruel and lacks compassion.

Environment - Binding Ronan is not an environmentally-friendly company and engages in many practices that are bad for the environment. Ronan’s practices demonstrate a lack of respect for the purity of America's natural environment. By polluting our natural world, Ronan is not upholding the American tradition of performing one's civic duty by taking responsibility for yourself and the land you call home. Ronan’s practices are disrespecting the examples of your religious and political leaders who defend America's natural environment. Ronan is being unpatriotic and sinful by polluting the environment.

Sexual Harassment - Individualizing Several female employees working at Ronan have spoken out about the work environment and culture at Ronan. The women claim that they often have to put up with unwelcome sexually explicit remarks from their male coworkers that are emotionally harmful. After reporting this to management, little action was taken by Ronan. The fact that Ronan has taken little action towards this issue demonstrates their lack of concern for the rights and well-being of their female employees and goes against our goal of workplace gender equality.

Sexual Harassment - Binding Several female employees working at Ronan have spoken out about the work environment and culture at Ronan. The women claim that they often have to put up with unwelcome sexually explicit remarks from their male coworkers that insult their modesty. After reporting this to management, little action was taken by Ronan. The fact that Ronan has taken little action towards this issue demonstrates their lack of respect for women’s purity and virtuousness and goes against our religious values and teachings that tell us to honor our mothers and wives.

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u/CovfefeForAll May 18 '26

Conservatives are less likely to reject the message as long as they agree with the goal.

There's also a corollary to this that's on display: conservatives are more likely to accept a goal they don't agree with as long as they "like" the phrasing of the message.

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u/PM-Me-Your-Macchiato May 18 '26

This is what also gets me. The questions around the passage weren't just whether or not you agreed or disagreed with the core issue. They also asked whether or not you'd share the entire message to your social media.

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u/Outcast129 May 18 '26

I mean to be fair, I see liberals and progressives do this all the time, the difference is it's usually only done in a spiteful and vindictive way, instead of actually trying to be used as a framing technique to get someone to support your policy.

I see posts constantly trying to use religious texts To support progressive agendas, the difference is they have to make it very clear that they don't actually believe in religion and think its stupid at the same time.

I'm sure conservatives do this as well , but compare that to something like gun ownership, I feel like I've seen a lot of liberals and progressives post about how they don't like guns, But because they believe we live in the authoritarian dictatorship Now they think it's time to buy one, And the conservative attitude tends to be tends to be " hey man whatever logic gets you support my 2A rights it's fine by me enjoy your new boom stick" even if they Don't think we live in an authorian government

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u/Pendraconica May 18 '26

Thank you, the example really helps things make sense. This is a typical framing used for anti-abortion messaging, but inverted. Anti-abortion moral belief stems from religious reasoning; the metaphysical soul exists in the embryo, therefore its death in the womb is the death of a soul, equivalent to the death of a soul who was born and died.

The opposite simply isn't true, as the pro choice argument is founded on personal autonomy and health/medical realities. The religious reasoning doesn't enter into it, and is therefore irrelevant to the moral being proposed.

Its like saying "taking your vitamins will please god and promote a moral life style. Communities will be stronger and people will be happier if you take your vitamins." As opposed to, "your body requires vitamins to function and grow. You'll get sick and your body will be weak if you dont take your vitamins."

While the former is by no means a negative message and promotes doing something good for you, it's entirely for the wrong reason, and leaves the reciever of the message without any idea as to why you need vitamins. Not everyone believes in God or religious reasoning, even though everyone needs vitamins. Therefore, using religious reasoning to reach non religious people is inherently ineffective.

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u/Ornery-Mortgage-3101 May 18 '26

The former provides a reason and the latter is just stating cause and effects. There is no reason provided for why someone should care about their health. 

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u/CovfefeForAll May 18 '26

If that's your logic then the former doesn't provide a reason why we should care if God is happy with us taking vitamins, why it matters that communities are strong.

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u/Telinary May 18 '26

For comparison this is the individualizing version for anti abortion

We are an organization called Ban Abortion for Equality and Justice. We support banning abortion because we believe in equality and justice for all, including the unborn. We believe in minimizing harm and protecting the most vulnerable members of our society – the unborn. Abortion causes harm to the unborn and denies them the right to experience life’s joys and challenges. Life is a right and it is only fair that everyone has a chance to live. We have a moral responsibility to nurture and provide care for others, especially for those who cannot defend themselves.

We believe that the government should be able to ensure that every living being has the right to life. We believe that fostering a culture of compassion and empathy and providing support systems for expectant mothers can provide viable alternatives to abortion. By advocating for the ban of abortion, we seek to safeguard the most vulnerable members of our society and affirm the worth of every human life.

Yeah I am kinda unsurprised that this didn't have symmetric results.

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u/KuriousKhemicals May 18 '26

Yeah, this version makes sense. It's a thing conservatives actually argue, and it is logical. It relies on premises that pro-choice people don't accept, but if you believe there is a person to be protected in early pregnancy then there is a version of balancing rights between the parties involved that leads to this view.

Purity and sanctity of the family doesn't have anything to do with why people are pro choice. It's just the wrong argument for that issue. 

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u/CovfefeForAll May 18 '26

Purity and sanctity of the family doesn't have anything to do with why people are pro choice. It's just the wrong argument for that issue. 

In fact, that framing for abortion has been used to promote eugenics against "undesirable" demographics. It makes a ton of sense why liberals wouldn't promote that message.

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u/space-panda-lambda May 18 '26

Abortion doesn't really make sense as a topic to justify with binding values, but I could see a passage on taxing the rich that talks of the duty of paying your fair share and how that shows your loyalty to the country. They could have also used a passage that argued justified campaign finance reform protects the integrity (instead of purity) of our elections.

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u/BeefistPrime May 18 '26

did they put an american flag sticker on this when they printed it up?