The way the media presents issues has a subtle but significant effect on the general public. Studies have shown that frames can help determine which procedures we deem medically necessary (Edwards, Elwyn, Covey, Matthews, & Pill, 2001), can influence our ability to remember critical details of a news story (Valkenburg, 2000) , and can even subtly influence elections (Shah, Domke and Wackman, 1996). Given the impact that frames can have on the general public, it is important to have a clear way to conceptualize and measure their effects. The most recent comprehensive explanation of frames and framing effects comes from Bertram and Dietram Scheufele (2010) and serves to define what frames are, what they do, how they do it, and where they come from. However, a predictive model of when the effects will occur is lacking. Adding this level to the framing model will significantly expand researchers' ability to accurately measure the effects of framing on individual cognitions and will at least partially address Scheufele and Scheufele's (2010) call to integrate sociological theories and psychological disparate in our understanding. framing (p. 131). This synthesis of the literature builds on recent research to show that the emergence of framing effects may depend on the processing strategy used by the recipient of the message (Stewart, 2013). This article focuses on introducing the fundamentals of framing and framing effects, and begins with an explanation of key framing concepts. After that, the heuristic-systematic model is explored as a possible candidate to explain when framing effects occur, and an updated model of framing effects is presented that takes these additions into consideration. The implications and limitations of this approach...... middle of article ......this current frameworks and scientific knowledge on the attributions of embryonic and adult stem cell research frameworks in as heuristic/biased cues. Scientific Communication, 35(1), 86-114. doi:10.1177/1075547012440517 Todorov, A., Chaiken, S., & Henderson, MD (2002). The heuristic-systematic model of social information processing. In J. P. Dillard & M. Pfau (Eds.), The persuasion handbook: Developments in theory and practice (pp. 195–211). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. Tversky, A. and Kahneman, D. (1973). Availability: a heuristic for judging frequency and probability. Cognitive Psychology, 5(2), 207-232. doi:10.1016/0010-0285(73)90033-9 Tversky, A. and Kahneman, D. (1981). The framing of decisions and the psychology of choice. Science, 211 (4481), 453-458. Valkenburg, P. M. (2000). The effects of news images on readers' thoughts and memories. Paper Summaries, 23(2).