A Diachronic Analysis of Prospect Theory in the Thai Online News during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Corpus-Driven Study

This study aims to investigate the linguistic strategies used in public health communication during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the regulations stipulated by the Center for COVID-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) of Thailand. A corpus of 1.4 million words was retrieved from Thai online mainstream news media written in Thai, and systematically randomized to analyze news content from March 1, 2020, to December 31, 2021. The framework used for analyzing language was the prospect theory, also known as the message-framing effects. This theory refers to choices that are framed or conditioned by language codes that manipulate changes in people's behaviors. Sentences or clauses designated as "one cause" and "one effect" were analyzed based on syntactic criteria, such as causative construction. The framing effect can be divided into two groups: the effect framed by GAIN (positive result) and its counterpart, LOSS (negative result). It was found that the most favorable linguistic strategy was "GAIN" (63%), reflecting positive messages. Based on linguistic evidence, it appears that Thai conventional media convey positive messages, which encompass prevention, risk-aversion, and positive attitude cultivation. The use of gain-framed language devices by agencies may reflect their attempts to generate positive emotions and gain people's trust during stressful situations, as well as to express sympathy and politely respond to the audiences. All things considered, the use of gain-framed-message strategies in Thailand plays a role in pandemic management and protection, contributing to the highly acclaimed and effective public health system it has accorded.