Infusing the Sociological Imagination into Policy Process Research: Finding Deep Stories in the Policy Narrative Framework

The sociological imagination has come to be viewed as one of sociology’s most fundamental contribution to the social sciences. Mills' (2000) conceptualized this idea as the habit of mind that that allows researchers to extrapolate individual troubles—problems, large and small, that individuals face—to societal issues—the large social and historical structures that shape the lives of individuals and communities. Taking seriously and theorize from individuals’ troubles to societal issues (and the reverse) is perhaps the defining feature of sociology as a discipline. Hochschild's (2016) theorization of Deep Stories (DSs) is a paradigmatic example of a sociological tool that operationalizes the sociological imagination. This paper provides a theoretical framework that uses alignment of Deep Stories and policy narratives within the NPF to explain policy support and change. Deep stories (DSs) (Hochschild, 2016) are narratives that individuals or groups produce to understand and explain social and political relationships. These stories are not necessarily true—they are often not even literal. Rather, DSs are narratives that are emotionally or experientially true and are used by the people who believe them to interpret new social or political experiences. They are fundamental stories, metaphors or ways of thinking that explain how society’s structure or issues are the source of their own troubles. These stories are not specific to a definite policy or experience; rather, they reflect an emotional truth of how an individual or group experiences the world. When expressed, they often take the shape of an extended metaphor. Deeply rooted in historical and lived experiences, DSs both shape and are shaped by individuals’ or groups experiences. DSs share elements with the Policy Narrative Framework (NPF). They both use characters (heroes, villains, victims), plot, and moral takeaways. Policy narratives, though, are more concrete and connected to real (or potentially real) policy outcomes. The characters are real people or entities, the plot is real actions related to a specific policy problem, and the moral is tied to specific outcomes. These specifics stand in contrast to DSs. DSs are meta narratives that explain the structure of a social space or a social group. The characters are socially real but may not be actual (e.g., racial/ethnic categorizations, the liberal elite, “the social other”), the plot may be allegorical, and the moral provides an explanation for the individual’s or group’s reaction rather than a specific policy outcome. It first introduces the concept of DSs, traces its development in sociological research, and provides several empirical examples of DSs. It then highlights how DSs can add to the NPF, specifically in explaining narrative efficacy. We argue that when policy narratives align with an individual or group’s DS, that narrative is more likely to be effective and garner support for the underlying policy position, and that DSs moderate the efficacy of policy narratives. Thus, aligning narratives with DSs provides a mechanism to influence policy support and ultimately policy outcomes.