Citation

Tukachinsky Forster R, Walter N, Brooks JJ. Psychol. Pop. Media 2022; ePub(ePub): ePub.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2022, American Psychiatric Publishing)

DOI

10.1037/ppm0000446

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

A set of two experiments examined the effect of a narrative depicting either a concordant or a discordant character whose position on gun control was either central (Study 1: N = 153) or peripheral (Study 2: N = 654) to the storyline. Four potential mechanisms of narrative persuasion (perceived similarity, identification, transportation, and counterarguing), two relevant narrative devices (transparency and placement), and audience characteristics (trait empathy) were considered.

RESULTS suggest that exposure to a discordant character bolsters readers' pre-existing beliefs, with counterarguing driving the effect. However, empathetic individuals are more receptive to counter-attitudinal information, albeit only when the controversial topic is peripheral to the story. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

Impact Statement

Theorists and practitioners often argue that stories (on television, in books, and other media) are uniquely well positioned to influence attitudes and behaviors, especially when dealing with value-laden topics. This widespread but seldom tested assumption was empirically evaluated in two experiments that exposed participants to two political narratives that either agreed or disagreed with the pre-existing position of the readers. Overall, the findings suggest that, when it comes to controversial issues, narratives are not very effective in persuading those who disagree with the message in the first place. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

Language: en