Framing, Reframing and Gestalt Theory

Framing, Reframing and Gestalt Theory

Framing is of the essence in communication, generally.
And also in change theory as reframing the dominant paradigm is an element of the Unfreezing phase. A classic example of Reframing is Tom Sawyer's ability to get his village peers to shift their value system from white washing a fence as a chore to an exotic entertainment. Reframing the anti-abortion agenda to a Pro-Life agenda is resulting in the incremental success in limiting women's health services in America as a theological imperative.
These shifts of meaning reflects the laws of organization in Gestalt Theory, in particular: connections among psychological contents are more readily and more completely created on the basis of substantive concrete relationships than by sheer repitition and reinforcement, as in: Don't sell the steak: sell the sizzle.