Frame Alignment Processes, Micromobilization, and Movement Participation

Author(s): David A. Snow, E. Burke Rochford, Jr., Steven K. Worden and Robert D.
Benford
Source: American Sociological Review, Vol. 51, No. 4 (Aug., 1986), pp. 464-481
Published by: American Sociological Association
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 FRAME ALIGNMENT PROCESSES, MICROMOBILIZATION,
AND MOVEMENT PARTICIPATION*

DAVID A. SNOW E. BURKE ROCHFORD, JR.

University of Texas at Austin Middlebury College

STEVEN K. WORDEN ROBERT D. BENFORD

University of Texas at Austin

This paper attempts to further theoretical and empirical understanding of adherent and
constituent mobilization by proposing and analyzing frame alignment as a conceptual bridge
linking social psychological and resource mobilization views on movement participation.
Extension of Goffinan's (1974) frame analytic perspective provides the conceptualltheoreti-
cal framework; field research on two religious movements, the peace movement, and several
neighborhood movements provide the primary empirical base. Four frame alignment
processes are identified and elaborated: frame bridging, frame amplification, frame
extension, and frame transformation. The basic underlying premise is that frame alignment,
of one variety or another, is a necessary condition for participation, whatever its nature or
intensity, and that it is typically an interactional and ongoing accomplishment. The paper
concludes with an elaboration of several sets of theoretical and research implications.

A long standing and still central problem in the this line, both conceptually and empirically, by
field of social movements concerns the issue of elaborating what we refer to as frame alignment
support for and participation in social movement processes and by enumerating correspondent
organizations (SMOs) and their activities and micromobilization tasks and processes. By frame
campaigns. There is growing recognition that a alignment, we refer to the linkage of individual and
thoroughgoing understanding of this issue requires SMO interpretive orientations, such that some set
consideration of both social psychological and of individual interests, values and beliefs and SMO
structural/organizational factors. This realization is activities, goals, and ideology are congruent and
reflected in recent literature reviews and critiques complementary. The term "frame" (and frame-
(Ferree and Miller, 1985; Gamson et al., 1982:7-12; work) is borrowed from Goffman (1974:21) to
Jenkins, 1983:527, 549; Zurcher and Snow, 1981) denote "schemata of interpretation" that enable
as well as in research on the correlates of support individuals "to locate, perceive, identify, and
label" occurrences within their life space and the
for or involvement in a variety of contemporary
world at large. By rendering events or occurrences
social movements (Isaac et al., 1980; Klandermans,
meaningful, frames function to organize experi-
1984; McAdam, 1984; Useem, 1980; Walsh and
ence and guide action, whether individual or
Warland, 1983; Wood and Hughes, 1984). To
collective. So conceptualized, it follows that frame
date, however, little headway has been made in
alignment is a necessary condition for movement
linking together social psychological and
participation, whatever its nature or intensity.
structural/organizational factors and perspectives in
Since we have identified more than one such
a theoretically informed and empirically grounded
alignment process, we use the phrase frame
fashion. alignment process as the cover term for these
Our aim in this paper is to move forward along linkages.' By micromobilization, we refer simply
to the various interactive and communicative
* Direct all correspondence to: David A. Snow, processes that affect -frame alignment.2
Department of Sociology, University of Texas, Austin,
TX 78712.
This is an expanded and refined version of an earlier i The concept of alignment as used here should not be
draft prepared for a meeting of the Council of European confused with what Stokes and Hewitt (1976) have
Studies Research Planning Group on Participation in termed "aligning actions." These refer to "largely
Social Movements, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, verbal efforts to restore or assure meaningful interaction
August, 1985. A revised draft was also presented at the in the face of problematic situations."
meetings of the American Sociological Association, 2 The term micromobilization has been used only
Washington, D.C., August, 1985. We gratefully acknowl- sparingly in the literature to refer to a set of interactive
edge the helplful comments on an earlier draft of Bert processes that are relevant to the operation of SMOs and
Klandermans, Hanspeter Kriesi, Doug McAdam, Alberto that are analytically distinguishable from macromobiliza-
Mellucci, Sidney Tarrow, and the anonymous reviewers tion processes such as changes in power relationships and
of the ASR. Preparation of the article was facilitated by a opportunity structures (Gamson et al., 1982:1-12;
grant from the Hogg Foundation for Mental Health. Walsh, 1981:3). Our use of the concept is consistent with

464 American Sociological Review, 1986, Vol. 51 (August:464-481)

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 FRAME ALIGNMENT AND MOBILIZATION 465

We illustrate these processes with data derived tives on social movements: the psychofunctional
primarily from our studies of the Nichiren Shoshu perspective, variously referred to as convergence
Buddhist movement (Snow, 1979, 1986), of Hare theory (Turner and Killian, 1972), the hearts and
Krishna (Rochford, 1985), of the peace movement minds approach (Leites and Wolf, 1970), and
(Benford, 1984), and of urban neighborhood breakdown theory (Tilly et al., 1975); and the
movements.3 Drawing upon these empirical mate- resource mobilization perspective associated with
rials, on Goffman's frame analytic perspective the work of McCarthy and Zald (1973, 1977),
(1974), which we extend and refine for our Oberschall (1973), and Tilly (1978), among
purposes, and on a range of literature pertinent to others. Although these approaches are routinely
the issue of movement participation, we discuss juxtaposed as countervailing perspectives on social
and illustrate the frame alignment processes we movements, both share three fundamental short-
have identified, and elaborate related micromobiliza- comings with respect to the participation issue.
tion tasks and processes. Before attending to this They neglect the process of grievance interpreta-
agenda, however, we consider several major tion; they suggest a static view of participation; and
problems that plague most extant analyses of they tend to over-generalize participation-related
participation in SMOs and movement-related processes.
activities and campaigns. This excursion will
provide a more solid grounding for our utilization
NEGLECT OF GRIEVANCE
of Goffman's frame analytic scheme and our
INTERPRETATION AND OTHER
elaboration of the various frame alignment pro-
IDEATIONAL ELEMENTS
cesses.
The most striking shortcoming is the tendency to
THEORETICAL AND EMPIRICAL BLIND gloss questions concerning the interpretation of
SPOTS AND SHORTCOMINGS events and experiences relevant to participation in
Most analyses of movement participation can be social movement activities and campaigns. This
conceptualized as variants of two generic perspec- tendency is particularly evident in the treatment of
grievances. Too much attention is focused on
grievances per se, and on their social psychological
this previous usage; however we would broaden the
manifestations (e.g., relative deprivation, alien-
conceptualization to refer to the range of interactive
ation), to the neglect of the fact that grievances or
processes devised and employed by SMOs and their
discontents are subject to differential interpreta-
representative actors to mobilize or influence various
target groups with respect to the pursuit of collective or tion, and the fact that variations in their interpreta-
common interests. Although the specific targets of these tion across individuals, social movement organiza-
mobilization or influence attempts can vary considerably tions, and time can affect whether and how they
from one movement to another, the literature suggests are acted upon. Both the psychofunctional and
that there are at least seven distinct target groups relevant resource mobilization perspectives ignore this
to the life histories of most SMOs: adherents, constitu- interpretive or framing issue. The psychofunctional
ents, bystander publics, media, potential allies, antago-
approaches do so by assuming an almost auto-
nists or countermovements, and elite decision-makers or
matic, magnetic-like linkage between intensely felt
arbiters. Although there are specific micromobilization
tasks pertinent to each of these groupings, we are
grievances and susceptibility to movement partici-
concerned in this paper only with those micromobiliza- pation.4 Lip service is given to subjective/interpre-
tion tasks and processes that pertain to participation in tive considerations, but they are rarely dealt with
general and to what we have called frame alignment in thoughtfully or systematically.
particular. Resource mobilization perspectives also skirt
3 Since the first three studies are described in the this interpretive issue by assuming the ubiquity and
works cited, it will suffice to note here that each was constancy of mobilizing grievances. This assump-
based on ethnographic fieldwork lasting over a year and
tion is stated most strongly by Jenkins and Perrow
involving first-hand particiption in SMO activities,
(1977:250-51, 266), McCarthy and Zald
campaigns, and rituals, informal and in-depth interviews
with other participants, and systematic inspection of
(1977:1214-15), and Oberschall (1973:133-34,
movement-related documents. The study of urban 194-95). Tilly (1978:8) can be read as having
neighborhood movements in Austin, Texas, has traced to reservations about the assumption, but deferring it
date the careers and micromobilization activities of five to others for analysis. However, it is not so much
different SMOs associated with three different cam- this ubiquity/constancy assumption that we find
paigns, one to curtail development, another in opposition troublesome,5 but rather the meta-assumption that
to expansion of the city's airport, and a third in
opposition to the relocation of the local Salvation Army
Shelter in or near residential neighborhoods. This ' For varied and pointed criticism of this psychofunctional
research is also based on ethnographic fieldwork breakdown approach, see Turner and Killian (1972:365),
procedures, which we have found particularly well-suited Useem (1975:11-18), Zurcher and Snow (1981), and
for studying and capturing the interactive, dynamic, and Zygmunt (1972).
multifaceted nature of micromobilization and participa- 5 Observations regarding the prevalence of grievances
tion related processes. are rather commonplace, ranging from Trotsky's (1959:249)

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 466 AMERICAN SOCIOLOGICAL REVIEW

this exhausts the important social psychological sus and action mobilization alludes to the impor-
issues and that analysis can therefore concentrate tance of these definitional concerns,6 but his
on organizational and macromobilization consider- empirical research addresses only the matter of
ations. This leap skirts, among other things, "the action mobilization. Consequently, the interpretive
enormous variability in the subjective meanings issues implied by the notion of consensus mobili-
people attach to their objective situations" (McAdam,zation remain undeveloped.
1982:34). Questions concerning the interpretation The neglect of grievance interpretation not only
of grievances and their alignment with social side-steps the previously noted observations, but
movement organizations' goals and ideologies are also flies in the face of long-standing concern in
thus ignored or taken for granted. the social sciences with experience and its
There are, however, a handful of students of interpretation (Bateson, 1972; Berger and Luckman
social movements who have alluded to this 1966; James, 1950; McHugh, 1968; Mead, 1932;
oversight, thereby implicitly suggesting the impor-
Schutz, 1962), the most recent notable contribution
tance of this line of inquiry. Turner (1969), for being Goffman's Frame Analysis (1974). For
one, has argued that the emergence of a significant Goffman, as well as for those on whom he builds,
social movement requires a revision in the manner concern with interpretive issues in the everyday
in which people look at some problematic world is grounded in the readily documentable
condition or feature of their life, seeing it no longer
observation that both individual and corporate
as misfortune, but as an injustice. In a similar vein,
actors often misunderstand or experience consider-
Piven and Cloward (1977:12) emphasize that "the able doubt and confusion about what it is that is
social arrangements that are ordinarily perceived as going on and why.7 Such common interpretive
just and immutable must come to seem both unjustproblems are particularly relevant to understanding
and mutable" before collective action is likely, a the operation of SMOs and the generation of
process that McAdam (1982) calls "cognitive support for and participation in social movement
liberation." And Gamson et al. (1982), drawing activity. SMOs and their activists not only act upon
on Moore (1978) and Goffman (1975), suggest that the world, or segments of it, by attempting to exact
rebellion against authorities is partly contingent on concessions from target groups or by obstructing
the generation and adoption of an injustice frame, daily routines, but they also frame the world in
a mode of interpretation that defines the actions of which they are acting. Moreover, the strategic
an authority system as unjust and simultaneously action pursued by SMOs, their resource acquisition
legitimates noncompliance. efforts, and their temporal viability are all strongly
Taken together, these observations buttress the influenced by their interpretive work. Accordingly,
contention that what is at issue is not merely the a thoroughgoing understanding of the participation
presence or absence of grievances, but the manner process requires that closer attention be given to
in which grievances are interpreted and the the interpretation of grievances and other ideational
generation and diffusion of those interpretations. elements, such as values and supportive beliefs.
But such interpretive issues have seldom been the The concept of frame alignment and its various
object of empirical investigation or conceptual processes are developed with these considerations
development. Recent social psychological work, in mind.
taking a rational calculus perspective, appears at
first glance to have attempted to remedy this
Static View of Participation
neglect by focusing attention on the process by
which prospective participants weigh the antici- A second shortcoming that pervades the literature
pated costs of action or inaction vis-a-vis the is the tendency to treat participation (or willingness
benefits (Granovetter, 1978; Klandermans, 1983, to participate) as a rather static dependent variable
1984; Oberschall, 1980; Oliver, 1980). But that
decision-making process has tended to be treated 6 Action mobilization involves the activation of
rather mechanistically and non-processually. Aside individuals who already support movement goals and
from considering a limited number of variables, activities; consensus mobilization refers to an SMO's
such as expectations regarding group support, little efforts to drum up support for its views and aims. In the
language of McCarthy and Zald (1977:1221), action
attention is given to the actual process by which
mobilization refers to the process of turning adherents
certain lines of action come to be defined as more into constituents, whereas consensus mobilization in-
or less risky, morally imperative in spite of volves the generation of adherents.
associated risks, or instrumentally pointless. 7 This is not to demean the interpretive capacity of
Klandermans' (1984) distinction between consen- everyday actors. Rather, it underscores the obdurate
reality that interpretation is a problematic enterprise that
can be encumbered by intentional deception, incomplete
observation that if privations were enough to cause an information, stereotypic beliefs, disputes between alleg-
insurrection the masses would be always in revolt, to edly "authoritative" interpreters, and so on. Indeed,
public surveys (ISR, 1979:4) revealing that Americans much of Goffman's Frame Analysis is devoted to the
readily avow numerous anxieties and problems. analysis of such encumbrances.

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FRAME ALIGNMENT AND MOBILIZATION 467

based in large measure on a single, time-bound, ments, regardless of variation in objectives,

rational decision. This tendency, which is espe- organizational structure, and opposition.
cially prominent among work informed by both This tendency, which is due in large measure to
psychofunctional and rational calculus perspec- the practice of studying and then using as a basis
tives, is misguided in several ways. First, it for generalization a single SMO, a segment of its
overlooks the situation/activity-based nature of membership or a particular activity, such as a
much movement participation. Seldom do individ- strike or freedom ride, is even effected in the
uals join a movement organization per se, at least previously cited works that emphasize the impor-
initially. Rather, it is far more common for tance of injustice frames or interpretations. But are
individuals to agree to participate in some activity shifts in interpretive frames a necessary condition
or campaign by devoting some measure of time, for participation in all kinds of social movements
energy, or money (Lofland and Jamison, 1984; and across all forms of collective action, regardless
McAdam, 1984; Snow et al., 1980). of variability in the costs or risks of participation?
Just as movement activities and campaigns Is the mobilization of sentiment pools the major
change with developments in a movement's career process that accounts for participation in most
and environment of operation, similarly there is contemporary movements, or is it more pertinent
variation in the individual's stake in participating to some kinds of movements and activities than it
in new or emergent activities. Decisions to is to others? Similarly, is conversion a general
participate over time are thus subject to frequent process that obtains across all movements, or is it
reassessment and renegotiation. Indeed, we have relevant to participation in only some movements?
been repeatedly struck by the fact that the various The notion of frame alignment processes also
movement participants we have observed spend a addresses these questions and concerns.
good deal of time together accounting and
recounting for their participation; they jointly
TYPES OF FRAME ALIGNMENT PROCESSES
develop rationales for what they are or are not
doing. Earlier we defined frame alignment as the linkage
While this sense-making or account-construction or conjunction of individual and SMO interpretive
might be subsumed under the rubric of rational frameworks. We now propose and elaborate four
calculus, it is clear to us that it is neither an types of frame alignment processes that are
individual nor time-bound entity. Rather, rationales suggested by our research observations, and which
for participation are both collective and ongoing attend to the blind spots and questions discussed
phenomena. This dynamic aspect of the social above. The four processes include: (a) frame
psychology of participation is not easily grasped, bridging, (b) frame amplification, (c) frame
however, by procedures that tend to abstract the extension, and (d) frame transformation. For each
participant/respondent from the context and net- variant of alignment we indicate correspondent
works in which the rationales are developed and micromobilization tasks and processes. The under-
embellished. Because of this tendency participa- lying premise is that frame alignment, of one
tion is rarely conceptualized or studied as a variety or another, is a necessary condition for
processual, even stage-like or step-wise, phenom- movement participation, whatever its nature or
enon. The concept of frame alignment and its intensity, and that it is typically an interactional
variant forms are elaborated in part with this more accomplishment.
processual and activity-oriented understanding of
participation in mind.
Frame Bridging

By frame bridging we refer to the linkage of two or

Overgeneralization of
more ideologically congruent but structurally
Participation-Related Processes
unconnected frames regarding a particular issue or
A third shortcoming with much of the work on problem. Such bridging can occur at the organiza-
movement participation involves the failure to tional level, as between two SMOs within the same
specify the extent to which various participation-movement industry, or at the individual level,
which is the focal concern of this paper. At this
related processes, such as bloc recruitment (Oberschall,
1973:125), network recruitment (Rochford, 1982; level of analysis, frame bridging involves the
Snow et al., 1980; Stark and Bainbridge, 1980), linkage of an SMO with what McCarthy (1986) has
mobilization of pre-existing preference structures referred to as unmobilized sentiment pools or
or sentiment pools (McCarthy and Zald, 1977; public opinion preference clusters. These senti-
McCarthy, 1986) and conversion (Snow and ment pools refer to aggregates of individuals who
Machalek, 1983, 1984), vary across social move- share common grievances and attributional orienta-
ments. The tendency is to write and speak in termstions, but who lack the organizational base for
that are too general, as if there are one or two expressing their discontents and for acting in
overarching microstructural or social psychological pursuit of their interests. For these sentiment
processes that explain participation in all move- pools, collective action is not preceded by

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 468 AMERICAN SOCIOLOGICAL REVIEW

consciousness or frame transformation, but by techniques for diffusion and mobilization, the
being structurally connected with an ideologically peace movement subscribes in part to the assump-
isomorphic SMO. tion of ideologically consistent or frame-
This bridging is effected primarily by organiza- compatible sentiment pools. In the words of a local
tional outreach and information diffusion through peace activist, "we assume that most anyone
interpersonal or intergrouop networks, the mass whose name appears on one of these lists would
media, the telephone, and direct mail. In recent share our views on the nuclear arms race,
years, opportunities and prospects for frame apartheid, and U.S. interventionism in Central
bridging have been facilitated by the advent of America." This assumption is also shared at the
"new technologies," namely the computerization national movement level, as reflected in a recent
of lists of contributors or subscribers to various SANE (Committee for a Sane Nuclear Policy)
causes and literature (McCarthy, 1986). The fundraising letter:
micromobilization task is first, to cull lists of
names in order to produce a probable adherent I'm sure you're well aware that most people
pool, and second, to bring these individuals within in this country oppose the nuclear arms buildup
the SMO's infrastructure by working one or more by the two superpowers. . . . An overwhelming
of the peviously mentioned information channels. majority of Americans are deeply concerned that
Evidence of frame bridging abounds in contem- the arms race poses an awesome danger to our
porary social movements. Indeed, for many SMOs lives and to the future of the world.
today, frame bridging appears to be the primary In sending this letter, I make one assumption.
form of alignment. Well-known examples include I assume you are one of those millions of
Common Cause, the National Rifle Association, Americans.
the prolife and prochoice movements, and the The foregoing illustrations point to the wide-
Christian Right. In the case of the latter, for spread existence of frame bridging as an alignment
example, frame bridging was crucial to its rapid process and suggest its salience for mobilizing
growth. Liebman (1983) reports that in its initial participants and other resources. But frame bridg-
year, the Moral Majority infrastructue raised in
ing does not sufficiently explain all varieties of
excess of 2.2 million dollars via mass mailing participation in all forms of movements or
campaigns, which in turn, supplied the funds to movement activities. Yet, most work within the
appeal to religious conservatives in general and tie
resource mobilization tradition concerned with
them into the organization's network through participation has approached it primarily in terms
extensive media campaigns. Richard A. Viguerie, of frame bridging. The orienting assumption that
a new Christian Right organizer and strategist,
grievances are sufficiently generalized and salient
further underscores the role of direct mail as an
to provide support for SMOs turns subjective
important bridging mechanism in the outreach and
orientations into a constant, and thus focuses
mobilization activities of the Christian Right:
attention on the mechanistic process of outreach
We alert our supporters to upcoming battles and bridging.
through the mail. We find new recruits for the The appropriateness of viewing micromobiliza-
conservative movement through the mail. With- tion as largely a bridging problem has been
out the mail, most conservative activity would suggested by a number of recent studies demon-
wither and die. . . . (Viguerie, 1980:123-27) strating the salience of both interpersonal and
group networks in relation to the emergence and
For Viguerie and other new right leaders, the
diffusion of social movements and their SMOs
utility of direct mail as a key bridging mechanism (Morris, 1981; Oberschall, 1973; Rochford, 1982;
rests on the presumption of the existence of
Snow et al., 1980; Stark and Bainbridge, 1980).
ideologically congruent but untapped and unorga-
Yet, to focus solely on networks as the key to
nized sentiment pools. Computer scanning and
understanding participation patterns can easily
name culling provide the lists of prospective
yield a misguided and overly mechanistic analysis
constituents; direct mail provides the key to frame
(Wallis and Bruce, 1982). Networks frequently
bridging.
function to structure movement recruitment and
The use of such bridging techniques and avenues
growth, but they do not tell us what transpires
is not peculiar to the Christian Right. Research on
when constituents and bystanders or adherents get
the peace movement in Texas revealed, for
example, that peace groups also utilize the direct together. Since a good portion of the time devoted
mail and similarly develop their mailing lists from to many SMO activities is spent in small
a variety of sources, including lists of individuals encounters, an examination of the nature of those
who attend events sponsored by other liberal encounters and the interactional processes involved
organizations and who subscribe to left-oriented would tell us much about how SMOs and their
periodicals such as Mother Jones, The Texas constituents go about the business of persuading
Observer, and The Progressive (Benford, 1984). others, effecting switches in frame, and so on.
As with other SMOs that rely on frame bridging McCarthy and Zald alluded to such concerns when

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FRAME ALIGNMENT AND MOBILIZATION 469

they suggested that sometimes "grievances and local SMOs associated with three different cam-
discontent may be defined, created, and manipul- paigns through 1985, values associated with
ated by issue entrepreneurs and organizations" family, ethnicity, property, and neighborhood
(1977:1215), but this provocative proposition has integrity were continuously highlighted and ideal-
neither been examined empirically nor integrated ized. In the case of generating neighborhood
into a more general understanding of constituent opposition to the proposed relocation of the local
mobilization. Our elaboration of the other variants Salvation Army shelter for the homeless, for
of frame alignment addresses these considerations, example, SMO activists appealed to prospective
thus moving us beyond the frame bridging process.
constituents on the basis of familistic values.
Proximate relocation of the shelter was repeatedly
Frame Amplification portrayed as a threat to women and children in
particular. Once such sentiments were validated,
By frame amplification, we refer to the clarifica-
amplified, and diffused, periodic mobilization of
tion and invigoration of an interpretive frame that
neighborhood constituents to engage in other
bears on a particular issue, problem or set of
organizational activities, such as signing petitions,
events. Because the meaning of events and their
connection to one's immediate life situation are carrying placards, and participating in media
often shrouded by indifference, deception or displays of neighborhood solidarity, became con-
fabriction by others, and by ambiguity or uncer- siderably less problematic.
tainty (Goffman, 1974), support for and participa- The use of value amplification as a springboard
tion in movement activities is frequently contingent for mobilizing support was also evident in the
on the clarification and reinvigoration of an peace movement. Fundamental values such as
interpretive frame. Our research experiences and justice, cooperation, perseverance, and the sanctity
inspection of the literature suggest two varieties of of human life were repeatedly embellished. The
frame amplification: value amplification and belief movement's most frequently idealized values,
amplification. however, were those associated with democracy,
Value Amplification. Values can be construed as particularly the values of equality and liberty.
modes of conduct or states of existence that are Peace activists amplified such values by asserting
thought to be worthy of protection and promotion their "constitutional right" to speak out on the
(Rokeach, 1973; Turner and Killian, 1972). nuclear arms race, national security, and foreign
Because individuals subscribe to a range of values
policy. A popular movement speaker, for example,
that vary in the degree to which they are
often bracketed his speeches with the Preamble to
compatible and attainable, values are normally
the U.S. Constitution and excerpts from the
arrayed in a hierarchy such that some have greater
Declaration of Independence. Similarly, the Texas
salience than others (Rokeach, 1973; Williams,
Coordinator of the Nuclear Weapons Freeze
1970). Value amplification refers to the identifica-
tion, idealization, and elevation of one or more Campaign, when asked in an interview what he
values presumed basic to prospective constituents thought needed to be done in order to achieve a
but which have not inspired collective action for nuclear freeze and move toward disarmament,
any number of reasons. They may have atrophied, responded succinctly, "just make the democratic
fallen into disuse, or have been suppressed because system work."
of the lack of an opportunity for expression due to By framing their mobilization appeals in the
a repressive authority structure (Tilly, 1978) or the language of cherished democratic principles, peace
absence of an organizational outlet (McCarthy,
activists not only attempt to build idiosyncrasyy
1986); they may have become taken for granted or
credit" (Hollander, 1958; Snow, 1979), but they
cliched (Zijderveld, 1979); they may not have been
also seek to redefine their public image as a
sufficiently challenged or threatened (Turner and
Killian, 1972); or their relevance to a particular movement serving the best interests of their
event or issue may be ambiguous (Goffman, country, in part through revitalization of what they
1974). If one or more of these impediments to see as atrophied values such as the right to redress
value articulation and expression is operative, then grievances and express dissent.
the recruitment and mobilization of prospective Belief Amplification. Broadly conceived, beliefs
constituents will require the focusing, elevation, refer to presumed relationships "between two
and reinvigoration of values relevant to the issue or things or between some thing and a characteristic
event being promoted or resisted.
of it" (Bem, 1970:4), as exemplified by such
Examples of value amplification were readily
presumptions as God is dead, the Second Coming
apparent among several of the SMOs we studied.
is imminent, capitalists are exploiters, and black is
Particularly striking was the ongoing value ampli-
fication in which local neighborhood activists and beautiful. Whereas values refer to the goals or
SMOs engaged in order to generate mobilizable end-states that movements seek to attain or
sentiment pools. In following the careers of five promote, beliefs can be construed as ideational ele-

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 470 AMERICAN SOCIOLOGICAL REVIEW

ments that cognitively support or impede action in ers was to substantiate unambiguously the claim
pursuit of desired values.8 that the shelter would indeed "destroy our
There are five kinds of such beliefs discernible neighborhoods." Since the Salvation Army has
in the movement literature that are especially long been identified with the values of Christian
relevant to mobilization and participation pro- charity, it did not readily lend itself to rhetorical
cesses: (1) the previously discussed beliefs about broadsides by neighborhood activists. Effective
the seriousness of the problem, issue, or grievance mobilization thus required a more negatively
in question (Gamson et al., 1982; McAdam, 1982; evaluated target of opposition. The growing
Piven and Cloward, 1977; Turner, 1969); (2) number of homeless, transient males who had
beliefs about the locus of causality or blame migrated to Austin and were served by the
(Ferree and Miller, 1985; Piven and Cloward, Salvation Army provided such a target. As one
1977; Zurcher and Snow, 1981); (3) stereotypic neighborhood activist candidly explained:
beliefs about antagonists or targets of influence
Everybody believed we couldn't fight the
(Shibutani, 1970; Turner and Killian, 1972); (4)
Salvation Army because it is good. But you can
beliefs about the probability of change or the
make anything look bad. So we focused on the
efficacy of collective action (Klandermans, 1983,
transients, and emphasized how they threatened
1984; Oberschall, 1980; Olson, 1965; and Piven
neighborhood residents, particularly women and
and Cloward, 1977); and (5) beliefs about the
children.
necessity and propriety of "standing up" (Fireman
and Gamson, 1979; Oliver, 1984; Piven and And indeed the activists did. Public hearing after
Cloward, 1977). public hearing in city council chambers were little
Since it is sociologically axiomatic that the more than rituals of vilification. Personified as
nature of action toward any object is contingent in slothful, alcoholic, mentally deranged, criminalistic,
part on beliefs about that object, it follows that and sex-crazed, the homeless population came to
participation in movement activities to eliminate, be seen not only as an unambiguous threat to
control, or change a category of individuals, a neighborhoods, but as being outside of the
lifestyle, or an institutional practice is more likely normative order and thus beyond what Coser
given a positive articulation between beliefs about (1969) has labelled the "span of sympathy."
the object of action and the nature of that action. Neighborhood activists did not invent these
The reality of everyday life in the modern world, negative typifications, though. Rather, they fo-
however, is such that the relationship between cused attention on and amplified selected beliefs
beliefs and objects is not always transparent or and characterizations that have been associated
uniformly unambiguous and stereotypic, and often historically with transient men so as to unify
times the relationship between beliefs and lines of neighborhood residents, on the one hand, while
action is antithetical or contradictory as well neutralizing countervailing themes and interpreta-
(Berger and Luckmann, 1966; Borhek and Curtis, tions, on the other. As one observer of the
1975; Goffman, 1974). Consequently, participa- micromobilization process noted, "everybody can
tion in movement activity is frequently contingent agree to spit at sort of half-alcoholic, twenty to
on the amplification or transformation of one or twenty-eight-year-old, unshaven men."
more of the foregoing sets of beliefs. Since the first Moving from beliefs about antagonists to beliefs
two sets will be discussed in relation to frame about the efficacy of collective action, we turn to
transformation, we illustrate the relevance of belief what has been the primary concern of recent efforts
amplification to participant mobilization here by to integrate social psychological considerations
considering the latter three varieties of belief. with the resource mobilization perspective. The
Examples of the amplification of stereotypic basic proposition, rooted in value-expectancy
beliefs about antagonists or targets of influence are theory, is that social action is contingent on
not difficult to find in the social movement arena, anticipated outcomes (Klandermans, 1984). If
especially since such beliefs frequently function as people are to act collectively, it is argued, then
unambiguous coordinating symbols that galvanize they "must believe that such action would be
efficacious, i.e., that change is possible but that it
and focus sentiment. The efforts of neighborhood
will not happen automatically, without collective
organizers to mobilize citizens to oppose the
action" (Oliver, 1985:21). Optimism about the
relocation of the Salvation Army shelter provides a
outcome of a collective challenge will thus
graphic illustration. As previously noted, proxi-
enhance the probability of participation; pessimism
mate relocation of the shelter was portrayed as a
will diminish it. We do not quibble with this
significant threat to the neighborhood ideal and to
proposition, especially since it has received
familistic values. The problem confronting organiz-
considerable empirical support from different
quarters (Forward and Williams, 1970; Gamson,
8 For a more thoroughgoing discussion of the distinc- 1968; Klandermans, 1984; Paige, 1971; Seeman,
tion and relationship between beliefs and values, see Bern 1975). But we do find troublesome the tendency to
(1970) and Rokeach (1968, 1973). take for granted the process by which optimism or

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 FRAME ALIGNMENT AND MOBILIZATION 471

a sense of efficacy is developed and sustained. Our the sword." As Oliver (1984:608-609) found in
research observations suggest that such beliefs or her research that compared active and token
expectancies are temporally variable and can be contributors to local collective action, activists
modified during the course of actual participation were "more pessimistic about their neighbors'
and by the micromobilization efforts of SMOs as willingness to make active contributions" and
well. As one formerly pessimistic neighborhood therefore believed "that if they want(ed) some-
activist recounted: thing done they (would) have to do it themselves."
Our research on neighborhood movements and
Much to my surprise, I came to the Austin
the peace movement similarly revealed pessimism
neighborhood movement with more conservative
on the part of activists about stimulating and
expectations than other neighborhood represen-
sustaining constituent participation. But such
tatives on matters such as development politics,
pessimism was typically privatized. Moreover, it
environmental concerns, and the real possibili-
was frequently seen as something that might be
ties of influencing change. . . . But after three
neutralized in part through micromobilization
months with the movement, I had more hope for
activities to generate "a sense of necessity" on
grass-roots influence. ...
behalf of potential participants. Thus, organizers of
The problematic nature and processual develop- a movement in opposition to expansion of the city
ment of efficacy were also evident in our peace airport exhorted proximate neighborhood residents
movement research. Nuclear disarmament activists to "speak up," emphasizing not only that their
were often heard to lament about finding them- "voices count," but that it is a matter of necessity
selves confronted by audiences who, on the one "because no one else will stand up for your
hand, agreed with the movement's assessment of home." In a similar vein, local peace activists
the dangers of the nuclear arms race, but, on the emphasized repeatedly how critical it is to
other hand, did not seem to share the activists' communicate to individuals that their contribution
beliefs that ordinary people can have any effect on to the peace movement is of utmost necessity if
the course of defense policy. Consequently, much nuclear war is to be prevented. As one leader
of the micromobiliztion activity engaged in by related:
peace activists involves the amplification of beliefs
Personally, I'm more pessimistic, but I think to
regarding the efficacy of their campaigns. Toward
be involved is the only alternative. If you're not
that end, disarmament leaders frequently cite and
involved the nuclear holocaust will happen, for
embellish the apparent successes of past move-
sure. To be involved is the only slight chance
ments. A favorite analogy is drawn between
that maybe it won't. That's what we have to
present attempts to rid the world of nuclear
emphasize.
weapons and the nineteenth-century abolitionist
movement. Parallels are drawn between those who Implied in such comments is a connection
believed that slavery would never be abolished and between beliefs about the necessity and instrumen-
those who believe that nuclear weapons cannot be tality of standing up, on the one hand, and the
eliminated. Likewise, peace activists cite the propriety of doing so, on the other. Indeed, beliefs
presumed achievements of the anti-Vietnam War about the former are often associated with and
movement, as illustrated by the following excerpt buttressed by beliefs about the moral propriety of
from a campus rally speech: standing up. Propriety can be conceptualized in
terms of what Fireman and Gamson (1979:31-32)
Some people think decisions are made in
call loyalty and responsibility, both of which are
Washington and Moscow, but this is not
properties of cultural codes or belief systems and
necessarily the case. Decisions are made by the
not merely individual attributes. As Fireman and
people. The decision that brought an end to the
Gamson (1979:32) correctly note, "individuals
war in Vietnam was not made by politicians in
exist in a climate of cultural beliefs about their
Washington. The decision to stop it was made
obligations to those groups with which they
right here by people like you and me.
identify." But since there is considerable variabil-
Such observations suffice to illustrate that ity in the salience of these beliefs both individually
beliefs about the efficacy of collective action are and culturally, it is often necessary to amplify them
temporally and contextually variable and subject to so as to increase the prospect that some potential
micromobilization efforts to amplify them. Such is participants will see their involvement as a moral
also the case with beliefs about the necessity and obligation. The leadership of the Nichiren Shoshu
propriety of "standing up" and "being counted." movement seemed to understand this well. Mem-
Beliefs about necessity refer to beliefs about the bers were constantly reminded of their obligation
instrumentality of one's own efforts in pursuit of to carry out "a divine mission that was set in
some movement objective. Such beliefs are often motion thousands of years ago." In the words of
of the "if-I-don't-do-it-no-one-will" genre, and the movement's Master, "members were born into
are thus rooted in part in pessimism about the this world as Bodhisattvas of the Earth whose
prospects of other potential participants "taking upnoble mission is to propagate true Buddhism

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 472 AMERICAN SOCIOLOGICAL REVIEW

throughout the world." Similarly, peace move- ing military spending to the needy." During this
ment leaders often invoked notions of moral period, the movement appealed primarily to
obligation and duty as mobilizing prods in their "white middle-class baby-boomers." Efforts were
efforts to activate adherents, as illustrated by the made to mobilize racial and ethnic minorities under
comments of a media personality, before a crowd the banner of "peace and justice," but with little
of demonstrators gathered at the gates of the success. A recent APJC memo attributes the failure
Pantex nuclear weapons facility on the 40th of this outreach campaign to two factors, and urges
anniversary of the Hiroshima bombing: "I've an expansion of the movement's framework:
learned that we not only have a right, but a
Two important reasons for this lack of interracial
responsibility to tell our government . . . when
coalition are: (1) APJC's failure to actively work
they have gone against our wishes."
on issues important to minority groups such as
Frame Extension hunger, better public housing, and police
brutality; and (2) APJC's stated goals and
We have noted how SMOs frequently promote
purposes do not clearly define its intention to
programs or causes in terms of values and beliefs
oppose racism and unjust discrimination. ...
that may not be especially salient or readily
With the recent rapid growth of the anti-
apparent to potential constituents and supporters,
apartheid movement in Austin, it is time for
thus necessitating the amplification of these
APJC to definitively affirm its intentions and
ideational elements in order to clarify the linkage
sympathies, which were previously only im-
between personal or group interests and support for
plied.
the SMO. On other occasions more may be
involved in securing and activating participants As a solution, APJC decided to add a fourth goal to
than overcoming ambiguity and uncertainty or its statement of purpose and promotional literature:
indifference and lethargy. The programs and "To promote social justice by nonviolently
values that some SMOs promote may not be rooted confronting racism, sexism, and all forms of
in existing sentiment or adherent pools, or may discrimination and oppression." Whether this
appear to have little if any bearing on the life frame extension will broaden the movement's
situations and interests of potential adherents. constituency remains to be seen, but it clearly
When such is the case, an SMO may have to illustrates the way in which the peace movement
extend the boundaries of its primary framework so
has attempted to enlarge its adherent pool.
as to encompass interests or points of view that are Frame extension also surfaced on occasion
incidental to its primary objectives but of consid- during research on local neighborhood movements.
erable salience to potential adherents. In effect, the The most vivid example occurred when the
movement is attempting to enlarge its adherent proprietors of bars and restaurants within a popular
pool by portraying its objectives or activities as downtown nightlife strip were confronted with the
attending to or being congruent with the values or prospect of the Salvation Army shelter being built
interests of potential adherents. The micromobiliza- in their area. In order to protect their interests, they
tion task in such cases is the identification of quickly attempted to win the support of neighbor-
individual or aggregate level values and interests hood residents throughout the city by invoking the
and the alignment of them with participation in already successful neighborhood frame and identi-
movement activities. fying their interests with those of Austinites in
Evidence of this variety of frame alignment was general. Thus, the rallying slogan became: "Let's
readily discernible in the movements we studied. Save 6th Street-Austin's Neighborhood." Once
In the case of the peace movement, frame the frame was extended, organizers played upon
extension is commonplace. Movement leaders and amplified the pieties of neighborhood in hopes
frequently elaborate goals and activities so as to of mobilizing support, as illustrated by the
encompass auxiliary interests not obviously associ- following appeal extracted from a flyer and
ated with the movement in hopes of enlarging its newspaper advertisement:
adherent base. The employment of rock-and-roll
WE NEED YOUR HELP!! We feel about our
and punk bands to attract otherwise uninterested
neighborhood just as you do about yours-and
individuals to disarmament rallies, and the dissem-
we ask the same consideration. If Austin is to
ination of literature explicating the services
keep the Sixth Street Neighborhood as we know
sacrificed by a community as a result of an
it, and it is to be utilized by all of the people of
escalating defense budget are illustrative of this
Austin as it is now, then you must help!! Please
practice. A recent decision by the Austin Peace and
take a few minutes to call the Mayor and the
Justice Coalition (APJC) illustrates this alignment
City Council Offices. Tell them how you feel
process even more concretely. Since its inception
about YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD-Sixth Street.
four years ago, this city-wide coalition of some 35
Ask them to seek an alternative to this problem.
peace groups had organized most of its activities
Please do it now!!
around the movement's goals of "nuclear disarma-
ment, stopping military intervention, and redirect- Frame extension was also operative in both the

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 FRAME ALIGNMENT AND MOBILIZATION 473

Nichiren Shoshu and Hare Krishna movements, And just as the interests that prompted investi-
but at a more interpersonal level. In the case of gation of movement activity were not always the
Nichiren Shoshu, the operation of this process was same as those that motivated joining, so the latter
particularly evident at the point of initial contact were not always the same as the interests that
between prospective recruits and movement mem- sustained participation. This was clearly illustrated
bers. The primary aim of these initial recruitment by comparison of the accounts of the same
encounters was not to sell the movement or to get members over an extended period of time. What
individuals to join, but simply to persuade the was found was that the interests associated with
prospect to attend a movement meeting or activity. participation were frequently redefined or elabo-
Toward that end, members attempted to align the rated. The longer the member's tenure, the more
prospect's interests with movement activities, likely he or she would articulate interest in world
practices, or goals. They did this by first trying to conditions and peace rather than in material or
discover something of interest to the prospect, and physiological matters, which was typically the case
then emphasized that this interest could be realized with novitiates. As one member noted when
by attending an activity or chanting. In a similar reflecting on her four and a half years in the
manner, Hare Krishna devotees strategically at- movement:
tempted to assess the interests of persons contacted
When I first joined I was concerned most with
in various public places in an effort to relate the
my looks and with getting a nice car and a nice
movement's religious philosophy to individual
apartment. But I eventually came to realize that
interests and concerns. As one ISKCON leader
those material things don't really count that
explained:
much. What really matters to me now is whether
The principle, basically, is just trying to relate people are happy.
the book to where a person is at. . . . So
devotees are really just trying to scope the Inspection of the accounts of Krishna devotees

person out as they are coming up to them. similarly revealed temporal variation in and
Trying to be more sensitive to them, asking elaboration of motives for participation. As one
them what their job is and even going so far as Krishna
X devotee recounts:
(a devotee known within ISKCON as the king of When I first joined in 1973, I didn't know much
book distribution) who would approach some- about the philosophy, but I was suffering greatly
body and say: "What are you into, man?" Y: at the time. When I met the devotees the second
"I'm into guns." X: "Well, here take this time I knew that I would join them. . . . Now I
because in this book there are a lot of things realize that this life and body are temporary and
about all kinds of ancient weapons from 5000 miserable, and that ISKCON is divine.
years ago."
These findings indicate that sustained participa-
Since the purpose of such encounters is to tion in movements such as Nichiren Shoshu and
encourage the prospect to attend or contribute to a Hare Krishna is frequently contingent on a change
movement function, members' appeals can vary in interpretive frame, thus suggesting that for some
widely, ranging from playing a musical instrument individuals in some movements, frame extension is
to meeting members of the opposite sex. Conse- but a "hooking" (Lofland, 1977) process that
quently, the reasons or interests prompting initial functions as an initial step along the path to the
investigation of movement activity may not be more thoroughgoing type of alignment we refer to
relevant, if related at all, to the decision to join and
as frame transformation.
become, at the very least, a nominal member. As
one Nichiren Shoshu member related when discuss-
ing how he got involved in the movement and why Frame Transformation

he joined: Thus far we have noted how the alignment of

I didn't want to go to a meeting when first individuals and SMOs may be effected through the
asked. But then the person who recruited me bridging, amplification, and grafting or incorpora-
started telling me about the many pretty girls tion of existing interpretive frames and their
that would be there. So I said, "Well, it can't be attendant values and beliefs. The programs,
that bad if they have all those pretty girls in this causes, and values that some SMOs promote,
religion." So I agreed to go to a meeting that however, may not resonate with, and on occasion
night and take a look at all those girls. . . . But may even appear antithetical to, conventional
that isn't why I joined Nichiren Shoshu. It was lifestyles or rituals and extant interpretive frames.
the happiness and friendliness of the members, When such is the case, new values may have to be
and the fact that I kind of liked chanting, that planted and nurtured, old meanings or understand-
made me decide to become a member and ings jettisoned, and erroneous beliefs or "misfram-
receive my Gohonzon (sacred scroll). But that ings" reframed (Goffman, 1974:308) in order to
decision didn't occur until, gee, several weeks garner support and secure participants. What may
after attending my first meeting. be required, in short, is a transformation of frame.

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 474 AMERICAN SOCIOLOGICAL REVIEW

According to Goffman (1974: 43-44), such a feature of alignment is pertinent only to participa-
transformation, which he refers to as a "keying," tion in religious, personal growth, and self-help
redefines activities, events, and biographies that movements. But this clearly is not the case; for a
are already meaningful from the standpoint of shift in attributional orientation is also frequently a
some primary framework, in terms of another constituent element of mobilization for and partic-
framework, such that they are now "seen by the ipation in movements that seek change by directly
participants to be something quite else." What is altering sociopolitical structures. In the case of
involved is "a systematic alteration" that radically participation in such movements, however, the
reconstitutes what it is for participants that is going shift involves a change from fatalism or self-
on (Goffman, 1974:45). blaming to structural-blaming, from victim-
We have identified two such transformation blaming to system-blaming, as documented by
processes that are pertinent to movement recruit- research on leftist radicalism in Chile (Portes,
ment and participation: transformations of domain- 197 la, 197 lb), unemployed workers' movements
specific and global interpretive frames. We shall in the U.S. (Piven and Cloward, 1977) and Cuba
first consider the similarities between these two (Zeitlin, 1966), protest orientations among Ameri-
alignment processes, and then turn to their can blacks (Forward and Williams, 1970; Gurin et
differences. al., 1969; Isaac et al., 1980) and on the
The obvious similarity is that both involve a development of feminist consciousness (Bird,
refraining of some set of conditions, be they 1969; Deckard, 1979). Moreover, this literature
biograhic or social, past, present, or future. The suggests that this shift can not be assumed.
objective contours of the situation do not change so We have thus far suggested that transformations
much as the way the situation is defined and thus of both domain-specific and global interpretive
experienced. Two analytically distinct aspects frames are contingent on the development and
comprise this interpretive change. First, as noted adoption of injustice frames and correspondent
earlier, there is a change in the perceived shifts in attributional orientation, but we have yet
seriousness of the condition such that what was to distinguish between the two types of transforma-
previously seen as an unfortunate but tolerable tions. We now turn to that consideration by
situation is now defined as inexcusable, unjust, or examining how they differ in terms of scope.
immoral, thus connoting the adoption of an Transformation of Domain-specific Interpretive
injustice frame or variation thereof (Gamson et al., Frames. By transformation of domain-specific
1982). interpretive frames, we refer to fairly self-
But the development and adoption of an contained but substantial changes in the way a
injustice frame is not sufficient to account for the particular domain of life is framed, such that a
direction of action. A life of impoverishment may domain previously taken for granted is reframed as
be defined as an injustice, but its relationship to problematic and in need of repair, or a domain
action is partly dependent, as attribution theorists seen as normative or acceptable is reframed as an
would argue, on whether blame or responsibility is injustice that warrants change. We construe
internalized or externalized. Thus, the emergence "domain" broadly to include an almost infinite
of an injustice frame must be accompanied by a variety of aspects of life, such as dietary habits,
corresponding shift in attributional orientations consumption patterns, leisure activities, social
Evidence of such a shift manifested itself relationships, social statuses, and self-perception.
repeatedly in research on conversion to the While each of these as well as other domains of life
Nichiren Shoshu Buddhist movement, as illus- can be and frequently are interconnected, they can
trated by the words of a 20-year-old convert: also be bracketed or perceptually bounded (Goff-
man, 1974:247-300), as often occurs in the case
Before joining Nichiren Shoshu I blamed any
of single-issue movements. The interpretive trans-
problems I had on other people or on the
formation that occurs with respect to one domain
environment. It was always my parents, or
may affect behavior in other domains, but the
school, or society. But through chanting I
discovered the real source of my difficulties: change of frame is not automatically generalized to
myself. Chanting has helped me to'realize that them. '0
rather than running around blaming others, I am Domain-specific transformations frequently ap-
the one who needs to change. pear to be a necessary condition for participation in
movements that seek dramatic changes in the
Since Nichiren Shoshu is a religious movement
status, treatment, or activity of a category of
that emphasizes personal transformation as the key
people. Concrete examples include movements
to social change, it might be argued that this

10 That such self-contained reframings can occur is not

9 For overviews and discussion of attribution theory, only suggested by Goffman (1974), but is also consistent
see Crittenden (1983), Jones and Nisbet (1971), Kelley with Mills' vocabularies of motive thesis (1940) and
and Michela (1980), and Stryker and Gottlieb (1981). Kelley's work on causal schemata (1972).

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FRAME ALIGNMENT AND MOBILIZATION 475

that seek to alter the status houses,

of awe category
keep with us theof people
people whose lives
such as women, children, the aged, handicapped, were expressed here.
and prisoners, or that seek to change the
Support for and participation in some SMOs is
relationship between two or more categories, as in
thus partly contingent in the refraining of some
the case of many ethnic and racial movements. In
domain-specific status, relationship, practice, or
each case, a status, pattern of relationships, or a
environmental feature or condition. Yet there are
social practice is reframed as inexcusable, im-
still other movements for which a far more
moral, or unjust. In the case of Mothers Against
sweeping transformation is frequently required in
Drunk Driving, for instance, the misfortune of the
order to secure more than nominal participation.
tragic loss of a loved one has been redefined as an
Transformations of Global Interpretive Frames.
injustice that demands an increase in the severity
In this final frame alignment process, the scope of
and certainty of penalties for drunk driving.
change is broadened considerably as a new primary
However, as Turner (1983) has suggested, partici-
framework gains ascendance over others and
pation involves not only coming to see as an
comes to function as a kind of master frame that
inexcusable tragedy what was formerly seen as an
interprets events and experiences in a new key.
unfortunate accident, but also redefining the status
What is involved, in essence, is a kind of
of drunk driver in more negative terms than was
thoroughgoing conversion that has been depicted
previously the case.
as a change in one's "sense of ultimate ground-
While movements for the liberation or integration
ing" (Heirich, 1977) that is rooted in the
of negatively privileged status groups have consid-
"displacement of one universe of discourse by
erably broader and more far-reaching goals, the
another and its attendant rules and grammar for
success of their mobilization efforts also rests in
putting things together" (Snow and Machalek,
part on effecting changes in the way their potential
1983:265-66). Domain-specific experiences, both
constituents view not only their life situation, but
past and present, that were formerly bracketed and
also themselves. As Carmichael and Hamilton
interpreted in one or more ways are now given new
argued in Black Power (1967:34-35):
meaning and rearranged, frequently in ways that
. . .we must first redefine ourselves. Our basic previously were inconceivable, in accordance with
need is to reclaim our history and our identity. the new master frame. As a female convert to
. . . We shall have to struggle for the right to Nichiren Shoshu recounts:

create our own terms through which to define I am an entirely different person now. I never
ourselves and our relationship to society, and to thought I would have much of a future or grow
have those terms recognized. This is the first up to enjoy the world. I was against everything.
right of a free people. ... I hated myself most of all, but I didn't know it
Domain-specific transformations have also been until chanting and the Gohonzon (the sacred
central to the participation process in the many scroll) showed that there was a different kind of
self-help and personal growth movements that have world. Now I see things totally different.
flowered during the last 15 years or so, such as est One of the major consequences of this more
and TM (Katz, 1981). A less obvious but sweeping variety of frame transformation is that it
important linkage between domain-specific trans- reduces ambiguity and uncertainty and decreases
formation and the participation process is also the prospect of "misframings" or interpretive
frequently found among movements whose mobili- "errors" and "frame disputes" (Goffman,
zation efforts involve in part a refraining of 1974:301-38). In short, everything is seen with
heretofore taken-for-granted aspects of everyday greater clarity and certainty.
life. A case in point is provided by one of the This pattern also manifested itself in discussions
neighborhood movements we studied that has and interviews with some peace activists. One
sought to curtail encroaching development in the veteran activist noted, for example, that during the
name of "historical preservation." The mobilizing course of her involvement the perceptual bound-
potency of that ideology, however, was contingentaries between war and peace issues and other
on the prior and ongoing transformation of aspects of the world gradually dissolved until there
stylistically outdated residential structures into were no longer any distinctive, mutually exclusive
architecturally unique repositories of historically domains. Nearly every domain of life, from her
sacred values and sentiments. As one neighbor- interpersonal relations to global issues, came to be
hood resident explained: reframed in terms congruent with the peace
movement.
We are shaped by these houses, their architec-
ture, their floorplans, what the spaces between . . .The planet is all one system. And therefore
the houses, the absence of driveways and it follows logically that we're all one people
garages, and the sidewalks all say about the living on it. And, if people see that, how in the
conduct of human life. We are close to our world could they get into a thing, you know,
grandparents' values here. When we preserve that's going to hurt each other? You've got to try

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 476 AMERICAN SOCIOLOGICAL REVIEW

to figure out how to make it all work. I mean, to this process can be decomposed into four related
me, it's a political, spiritual thing that's totally but not identical processes: frame bridging, frame
tied together. And I feel that it's the way it is amplification, frame extension, and frame transfor-
whether or not people realize it. I'm sure of it. mation. Third, initial frame alignment cannot be
And the only real hope is for more people to assumed, given the existence of either grievances
realize it and to do whatever it takes to make or SMOs. Fourth, frame alignment, once achieved,
them realize it. cannot be taken for granted because it is temporally
variable and subject to reassessment and renegoti-
What it takes, in those cases where there is little
ation. As we have noted, the reasons that prompt
if any transparent overlap between the perspectives
participation in one set of activities at one point in
of potential adherents and SMOs, is frame
time may be irrelevant or insufficient to prompt
transformation or conversion. In those cases, the
subsequent participation. Fifth, frame alignment,
micromobilization task is to affect conversion by
in one form or another, is therefore a crucial aspect
"keying" the experiences of prospective partici-
of adherent and constituent mobilization. And
pants, including events that they observe, so that
sixth, each frame alignment process requires
what is going on for them is radically reconstituted
somewhat different micromobilization tasks.
(Goffman, 1974:45), as reflected in the above
Taken together, these observations suggest
activist's account of her transformation from a
several sets of questions and propositions that
"right wing racist" into a peace movement
subsequent research ought to address. A first set of
activist:
questions concerns the relationship between types
My senior year was the time when I changed of frame alignment and types of movements. Is
from the extreme right to . . . left of liberal each of the frame alignment processes identified
. . . Everything I learned about it (the peace more likely to be associated with some kinds of
movement) convinced me how wrong and racist movements rather than others? Frame bridging, for
it was to be, you know, right wing. . . . I was example, appears to be the modal type of
in Oklahoma City then, and the peace movement alignment associated with low demand, profes-
was really late getting there. sional social movements that often are difficult to
distinguish from conventional interest groups.
While this radical transformative process may be
Similarly, value amplification might be hypothe-
a necessary condition for the participation of some
sized as the modal type of alignment associated
individuals in an array of movements, it is
with two sets of movements: those that are reactive
undoubtedly more central to the participation
in the sense that they defend the status quo, such as
process of some movements than others. Hare
many conservative movements; and those that arise
Krishna provides a case in point, as graphically
among people who are segmentally organized in
illustrated by the following remarks routinely made
relation to dominant power structures (in the sense
to recruits at the New York ISKCON temple in
discussed by Oberschall, 1973:118-24) and who
1980:
have constituted, as a result, long-standing subcul-
As Krishna explains in the Bhagavad-Gita, our tures of resistance and contention, such as
lives thus far have been in darkness, in the mode Catholics in Northern Ireland, Palestinians in the
of ignorance. All our learning up to now has Middle East, Rastafarians in Jamaica, the Basque
been illusion, garbage. This is because this past in Spain, and Blacks in South Africa. In a similar
learning we have received does not allow us to vein, we suspect that frame transformation of the
know the Absolute, Krishna Consciousness global variety, given its extensive scope and
(leader's emphasis). radical nature, is most likely to be associated with
participation in movements that share two charac-
teristics: they have "world-transforming" goals or
SUMMARY AND IMPLICATIONS
aspirations in the sense that they seek total change
We have attempted to clarify understanding of of society across all institutions (Bromley and
adherent and constituent mobilization by proposing Shupe, 1979); and they are comparatively "greedy"
and analyzing frame alignment as a conceptual in terms of time, energy, and orientation (Coser,
bridge that links social psychological and 1974). Examples of movements that can be defined
structural/organizational considerations on move- in these terms include Hare Krishna, the Unifica-
ment participation. We have pursued this task by tion Church, Nichiren Shoshu, most millenarian
addressing three deficiencies in research on movements, and early communism.
movement participation-neglect of grievance interpeta- While each of the frame alignment processes
tion, neglect of the processual and dynamic nature may be operative in varying degrees at some point
of participation, and overgeneralization of participation- in the life history of most movements, what we are
related processes, and by identifying and elaborat- hypothesizing is that there is a kind of elective
ing six concrete points. First, participation in SMO affinity between forms of alignment and movement
activities is contingent in part on alignment of goals and perspectives, such that we can speak of
individual and SMO interpretive frames. Second, modal types of alignment for particular types of

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 FRAME ALIGNMENT AND MOBILIZATION 477

movements. Investigation of this hypothesized nized and mobilized; on other occasions framing
relationship becomes especially important when efforts fall on deaf ears and may even be
we consider that the differential success of counter-productive. This obdurate fact thus begs
participant mobilization efforts may be due in part the question of why framing processes succeed in
to variation in the capacity of SMOs to skillfully some cases but not in others. There are at least two
effect and then sustain a particular type of sets of factors at work here.
alignment. One involves the content or substance of
A second issue concerns the relationship be- preferred framings and their degree of resonance
tween types of frame alignment and what Tarrow with the current life situation and experience of the
(1983a, 1983b) has referred to as "cycles of potential constituents. Does the framing suggest
protest." Cycles of protest are characterized by, answers and solutions to troublesome situations
among other things, "the appearance of new and dilemmas that resonate with the way in which
technologies of protest" that "spread from their they are experienced? Does the framing build on
point of origin to other areas and to other sectors of
and elaborate existing dilemmas and grievances in
social protest" (Tarrow, 1983a:39), thus adding to ways that are believable and compelling? Or is the
what Tilly (1978) refers to as the "repertoire" of framing too abstract and even contradictory? In
protest activity. But cycles of protest do not short, is there some degree of what might be
function only as crucibles out of which new conceptualized as frame resonance? We propose
technologies of social protest are fashioned; they that one of the key determinants of the differential
also generate interpretive frames that not only success of framing efforts is variation in the degree
inspire and justify collective action, but also give of frame resonance, such that the higher the degree
meaning to and legitimate the tactics that evolve. of frame resonance, the greater the probability that
Just as some forms of innovative collective action the framing effort will be relatively successful, all
become part of the evolving repertoire for else being equal. Many framings may be plausible,
subsequent SMOs and protesters within the cycle, but we suspect that relatively few strike a
so it seems reasonable to hypothesize that some responsive chord and are thus characterized by a
movements function early in the cycle as progeni- high degree of frame resonance. Consideration of
tors of master frames that provide the ideational this issue calls for closer inspection than heretofore
and interpretive anchoring for subsequent move- of not only the nature of the interpretive work and
ments later on in the cycle. If so, then the corollary resources of SMOs, but also of the degree of fit
proposition follows that there ought to be cyclical between the resultant framings or products of that
variation in the predominance of particular types of work and the life situation and ideology of
frame alignment, such that transformation is more potential constituents.
likely to be predominant in the early stages, The second set of factors that we think bears
followed by amplification and bridging. directly on the relative success or failure of
Perhaps the occurrence, intensity, and duration framing efforts concerns the configuration of
of protest cycles are not just a function of framing hazards or "vulnerabilities" (Goffman,
opportunity structures, regime responses, and the 1974:439-95) that confront SMOs as they go about
like, but are also due to the presence or absence of the business of constructing and sustaining partic-
a potent innovative master frame and/or the ular frame alignments. The excessive use of frame
differential ability of SMOs to successfully exploit bridging techniques by SMOs, for example, may
and elaborate the anchoring frame to its fullest. lead to an oversaturated market. Consequently, a
Hypothetically, the absence of innovative master movement may find itself vulnerable to discount-
frames may account in part for the failure of mass ing, particularly when potential adherents and
mobilization when the structural conditions seem conscience constituents are inundated by a barrage
otherwise ripe; or a decline in movement protest of similar impersonal appeals from a variety of
activity when the structural conditions remain competing SMOs.
fertile may be partly due to the failure of SMOs to Frame amplification, too, has its own vulnera-
exploit and amplify the anchoring frame in bilities, as when a movement fails to consistently
imaginative and inspiring ways. In either case, protect or uphold those core values or beliefs being
latent structural potential fails to manifest itself highlighted. If, on the other hand, a value becomes
fully. discredited or loses its saliency, or a belief is
A third set of issues implied by the foregoing popularly refuted, it may drag associated frames
considerations concerns the factors that account for down along with it.
variation in the relative success or failure of Similar hazards may be associated with the
framing processes in mobilizing potential constitu- frame extension process. If, for instnce, an SMO
ents. In arguing that one or more varieties of frame fails to deliver the promised auxiliary and
alignment is a necessary condition for movement incidental benefits, suspicion of the construction of
participation, we have proceeded as if all framing an exploitative fabrication may arise. Moreover,
efforts are successful. But clearly that is not the the very use of such inducements that are not
case. Potential constituents are sometimes galva- central to the movement's stated goals may result

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 478 AMERICAN SOCIOLOGICAL REVIEW

in the trivialization of the sincerity of its claims Middle East (Snow and Marshall, 1984). Mass
and objectives, and perhaps of even the movement protests that exist apart from SMOs have also been
itself. Social movement organizations and coali- suggested as important mobilizing vehicles by
tions further run the risk of clouding a frame when European scholars (Melucci, 1980; Pizzorno,
they extend their primary frame to encompass 1978; Touraine, 1981), and single protest events
goals and issues beyond the scope of their original have been hypothesized to function in a similar
platform. Adherents and conscience constituents manner as well (Tarrow, 1983a, 1983b). Precisely
may not embrace the extended frame as enthusias- how these latent mobilizing structures and inci-
tically as they would a relatively clear, domain- dents of collective behavior affect frame align-
specific frame. Indeed, popular support may be ment, and thereby facilitate consensus or action
withdrawn following a frame extension strategy, as mobilization, is not clear, however. Thus, a fourth
was the case when some nuclear freeze proponents issue subsequent research ought to address con-
attempted to link nuclear disarmament goals with a cerns the relationship between extra-movement,
defense of social welfare programs. micromobilization agencies and the various types
Frame transformation is not immune to its own of frame alignment, focusing in particular on the
vulnerabilities. Domain specific conversion, for processes and mechanisms through which frame
example, though resistant to small changes in alignment effected in different contexts.
opinion climate, is often so narrowly based that One might ask, of course, what difference it
either a sudden failure or an unexpected success makes whether we can specify empirically how
may test the organization's adaptive abilities. and in what contexts frame alignment of one
Another risk associated with this form of frame variety or another is effected. Is it not enough to
alignment is the occasional fostering of an know that frame alignment is produced and
excessive and unbridled enthusiasm that threatens constituents are mobilized? The answer is no for
to spill over into domains extraneous to the several reasons. As Tilly (1978) and his associates
movement's frame, thereby undermining its integ- have shown, collective actors come and go. Some
rity and the movement's mode of operation. show up when not anticipated. Others fail to
Movements involved in global transformation, on mobilize and press their claims, even when they
the other hand, are less likely to find such appear to have a kind of natural constituency. And
generalized enthusiasm problematic, but may find those that do show up vary considerably in terms
themselves devoting a greater proportion of their of how successful they are. The argument here is
resources to internal frame maintenance or "ideo- that the reasons why some show up and others do
logical work" (Berger, 1981) to ward off external not, why some stay in contention longer than
symbolic threats in the form of ridicule or the others, and why some achieve greater and more
downkeyings of deprogrammerss" and other enduring success, have to do not only with changes
opponents. in opportunities and the expansion and appropria-
The foregoing observations suffice to illustrate tion of societal resources, but also with whether
that the frame alignment process is an uneasy one frame alignment has been successful effected and
that is fraught with hazards or vulnerabilities sustained.
throughout a movement's life history, and particu-
larly at certain critical junctures, as when SMOs
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