Frames, scripts, scenarios,
models, spaces and other
animals:
Bridging conceptual divides between the
cognitive, social and computational

Dominik 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 Goffman
http://www.ccsr.ac.uk/methods/publications/frameanaly
sis/
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
Schema
Script
Scenario
Domain
Footing (Goffman)
Prototype (psychology)
Exemplar (phonology)
Presupposition
Metaphor (Outward bound)
Gestalt (psychology)
Construct (as in constructivist psychology)
Case (as in "case-based reasoning")
Stereotype
Perspective
Ability 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 resemblance
Episodic memory
Priming
Identity
Cognitive dissonance
Contestation
Construction
Historical memory
Folk theory
Theory
Paradigm
Metanarrative
Foucault's archeology of the mind
Culture
Grammar (as in “grammar of schooling”)
Archetype (psychology)
Persuasion
Prejudices
The Other
Historical Imagination
Myth
Role model
Disciplines using
frame-like concepts
Artificial Intelligence
Ethnography/Anthropology
Art history
Cognitive psychology
Social psychology
Linguistics
Sociology
History of science
Therapeutic psychology
Logic
Political theory
Behavioral economics
Media theory
Rhetoric
Law
Pedagogy
Organization studies
Policy 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 aspects
Image aspects
Figurative aspects
Meronymic aspects
Metacognitive aspects
Definitions
Narratives
Rich images
Image schemas
Metaphors
Analogies
Collocations
Links to related concepts
Awareness 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 properties
Hypostasis and negotiation
(frame negotiation)
Social as well as psychological
dimension
Variation in accessibility
Acquisition
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/
bombing
Killing of people. Done at a
distance. Unlawful connotation
unless by military.
suicide
Killing of self. Usually in private
by individual means. For
personal reason. Connotations
of sadness and grief.
suicide bombing
Killing 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 bombing
Removes 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 war
I teach public policy
I teach French
I teach shooting
I teach guns
What is the nature of
knowledge necessary to
interpret framing.
fruit dumplings
meat dumplings
bread dumplings
potato dumplings
cheese-curd dumplings
hairy dumplings
Interplay of propositional
knowledge, force dynamics,
scale schemas, rich images.
The Normans conquered Britain
The Browns conquered Britain
The Beatles conquered Britain
Nazi Holocaust
Jewish Holocaust
Hungarian Holocaust
Spanish 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 framing
Memory of frames
Priming
Habituation and embodiment
Individual variation
Frame negotiation

Frames, scripts, scenarios, models, spaces and other animals: Bridging conceptual divides between the cognitive, social and computational