Values, Political Knowledge, and Public Opinion about Gay Rights: A Framing-Based Account

This study examines how political knowledge has shaped the effectsof two values–97) showed that the implications of moraltraditionalism were virtually undisputed in this debate, whereasboth sides laid claim to egalitarianism. Analysis of AmericanNational Election Studies survey data demonstrated that in 1992and 1996 the impact of moral traditionalism on public opiniongrew stronger as political knowledge increased, whereas theimpact of egalitarianism did not vary across levels of knowledge.Thus, the results suggest that the extent to which politicalknowledge moderates a value's effect on opinion can depend onwhether public debate provides an undisputed frame or competingframes for that value. One could, in turn, frame the implicationsof this finding for democratic politics in more than one way.