by Bill Dale

Framing and Reframing have been receiving lots of publicity recently. Indeed it has been said that this is perhaps the most significant topic in our drive to restore Scotland to its natural state as a sovereign nation, playing its full part on the world stage. Framing in one form or another has been extensively studied, researched and indeed applied for over a century. Unfortunately its main proponents have been the members of the establishment, both here and in the US. Billions have been spent by the right wing promoting establishment frames, to the extent that most people consider them normal. This is the challenge facing us in persuading people to support self-determination for Scotland.

So, what is framing? Framing is the basis of propaganda, and reframing is the breakthrough means of combating propaganda. In our live sessions and workshops we say to people “Don’t think of an elephant!”. Unsurprisingly, the vast majority of people immediately think of an elephant, despite having been asked not to think of one.

So why is it so difficult not to think of an elephant? It is because the brain has no way of not doing something. Tell someone “Don’t look now” and they inevitably turn round and look. If you want someone not to look round, then tell them to do something positive, for example, “Keep looking straight ahead at me.”

Framing is the basis of propaganda, and reframing is the breakthrough means of combating propaganda

Recent advances in cognitive science and neuroscience show that we think in terms of frames, which are mental constructs, such as our representation of an elephant, and also physical, consisting of networks of neurons. Those who have studied psychology may know frames as schema or schemata.

Frames are hierarchical and we use them to understand the world around us. For example if your highest level frame is that you are better than others, perhaps because you were always told this, then you will automatically frame your interactions with people who are not “one of us” to be condescending. Mostly we are unaware of the frames we are using; indeed it is a bit like the scene from the film The Matrix where most people did not realise they were plugged into a machine.

It is worth noting that the term frame used in this context is not the same as that used in psychotherapy or in opinion polling.

Reframing is used in certain branches of psychotherapy where the patient is asked to have two parts of his or her personality talk to one another and reframe how they see a situation. For example, the person may be feeling depressed, and be encouraged by the therapist to “talk to himself or herself” about how to reframe the situation more positively.