The Rockridge Institute was an American non-profit research and progressive think tank founded in 1997 and located in Berkeley, California, from 2003 until April 30, 2008.

[3][4] Based on extensive research in human cognition, the Rockridge Institute argued that the way an issue is framed—the language used to describe it and the metaphors used to understand it—influences our political views as much, or more, than the particulars of a given policy.

A much discussed example of framing is the Bush administration's use of the phrase War on Terror to describe its policies following the September 11th attacks.

The use of the "war" metaphor, the Rockridge Institute and others contended, had a tremendous effect on U.S. policy and public debate.

[7] If the U.S. response to September 11 had been framed as a criminal proceeding, the Rockridge Institute and others argued, such extraordinary measures would never have garnered sufficient political support.