FrameWorks Session at Yale Child Study Center

Building understanding of the science of early childhood development and advancing policies in line with this science requires more than strong science and piles of evidence—it requires changing the cultural mindsets that shape how that science and evidence is understood and acted on. Drawing on 25 years of framing, mindset, and narrative research, this talk will show how dominant patterns of thinking such as individualism and fatalism limit public support for solutions and offer a set of strategies that can be used to shift these mindsets.

Using concrete examples from early childhood science communications and campaigns, the presentation will demonstrate how strategic framing can activate more productive mindsets, expand our sense of collective responsibility for the wellbeing of children and families, and build durable support for science-backed policies that improve outcomes for children and families.

This talk is part of an annual visit to Yale Child Study Center (YCSC) by FrameWorks Institute Chief Executive Officer Nat Kendall-Taylor, PhD, who will offer this hybrid lecture on framing early childhood, open to all in the YCSC community and YSM colleagues. The session will take place in person in the Senn Conference Room at 230 South Frontage Road while also available via Zoom, though YCSC community members who are able to attend in person are strongly encouraged to do so.