Page 116 - The Handbook of Persuasion and Social Marketing

Persuasion in the Political Context 109

the presentation of this issue helped establish that the media were mostly
focused on the economic consequences of the process rather than on soci-
etal conflicts that might be triggered by the common currency among par-
ticular citizens (e.g., neighbors), communities, institutions, or states.
Neither did the media discuss who might benefit and who might lose in
the wake of the process. In the Netherlands, the media particularly fo-
cused on economic benefits, both on the macro- and the microeconomic
scale. Nevertheless, some messages framed in positive economic conse-
quences betrayed a certain anxiety and uncertainty. British publications
pointed out that the adoption of the euro would be detrimental to Great
Britain’s position as a world economic leader because of the strength of the
British pound sterling. The media evoked anxiety among voters when the
issue of adopting the euro was presented in the context of the potential
societal problems that might result. The conflict frames were quite infre-
quently used in this case, mostly surfacing in television broadcasts and
being weakly represented in the print media. The very nature of the con-
flict created the imagery of gains and losses for various societal groups.
Thus, the vision of a common currency was a source of anxiety and aroused
a sense of endangerment. Consequently, these negative emotions led to
adverse reactions toward adoption of the euro.
Presenting issues in conflict and/or economic consequences frames in-
fluences electoral behavior, as borne out by the research on persuasiveness
presented so far. In the problem area under discussion, we can only deter-
mine the kind of frames and the frequency of their application in the me-
dia, but we are not familiar with their electoral impact. Thus, it is imperative
to examine in detail how voters approach the problem of the common cur-
rency when the economic consequences frames are additionally divided
into positive and negative. In their experiment, Cwalina and Falkowski
(2012) provided subjects with the following three stances that might be
taken by a politician regarding Polish accession to the monetary union:

1. The benefits related to the entry of Poland into the euro zone are very clear. It
will be good for long-term economic growth. It will increase the reliability of
Polish macroeconomic policy. I am in favor of adopting the common currency
(euro) in Poland.
2. The adverse effects related to the entry of Poland into the euro zone are very
clear. It will be bad for long-term economic growth. It will decrease the reliabil-
ity of Polish macroeconomic policy. I am against adopting the common cur-
rency (euro) in Poland.
3. The benefits related to the entry of Poland into the euro zone are currently
unclear. It is difficult to predict whether joining the monetary union will be
favorable or unfavorable for Poland’s long-term economic growth. One cannot