Reframing

Reframing is a term that signifies a shift in perspective or understanding of a situation. When a person experiences a situation, whether in real time or [Page 631]narrative, the characteristics of that situation engender a world of interrelated assumptions and expectations, mostly unconscious, for that person. This world of assumptions and expectations is the “frame” of the situation, which can comprise several interlocking frames. Terms that are synonymous with frame include scheme and script. When one refers to a perspective shift as “reframing,” one is hearkening to the fact that a new set of assumptions and expectations, differing from those that were initially present before the reframing, has been applied to the situation. Humorous reframing occurs when the shift in perspective or understanding is experienced ...