Narrator Point of View and Persuasion in Health Narratives: The Role of Protagonist–Reader Similarity, Identification, and Self-Referencing

Abstract

Narratives are often used in messages about health threats. We posited that a 1st-person point of view (POV) narrative would have a greater effect than a 3rd-person POV on the mediators identification and self-referencing-an effect moderated by protagonist-reader similarity. Higher levels of identification and self-referencing were expected to elevate susceptibility and severity perceptions, leading to persuasion. Participants ages ≤30 years were recruited from a crowdsource website and randomly assigned to read one version of a faux magazine article about caffeine overdose. Article versions were defined by a 2 (1st- or 3rd-person POV) × 2 (similar or dissimilar protagonist) design. To manipulate similarity, we had respondents read an article in which the protagonist was also young (24 years of age) and of the same sex or much older (54 years of age) and of the opposite sex. Participants then completed a questionnaire measuring study variables. Contrary to expectations, POV did not affect identification or self-referencing. However, similarity directly impacted identification, which in turn influenced severity perceptions. Self-referencing was not affected by the experimental manipulations but had a direct effect on susceptibility and also mediated the identification → susceptibility relationship. Susceptibility and severity perceptions were associated with greater levels of persuasion. Implications for message design are discussed.

Persuading with Narratives Against Gender Violence. Effect of Similarity with the Protagonist on Identification and Risk-Perception

“…One line of research in this field is related to the effect that similarity between the protagonist of the narrative and the audience has on identification, and on the persuasive effectiveness of the story (Chen, Bell, & Taylor, 2016;de Graaf, 2014;Hoeken, Kolthoff, & Sanders, 2016). Similarity describes a process through which a message receiver assesses the extent to which he or she shares certain traits with the message protagonist.…”

“…Similarity has been manipulated experimentally by varying the characteristics of the main character in the story and at the same time taking into account the situation or characteristics of the study participants or receivers (Chen et al, 2016;de Graaf, 2014;Hoeken et al, 2016). For example, in the study carried out by de Graaf (2014), information about where the main character of the narrative lived was manipulated (with her parents or in a student dorm); at the same time, the participants were asked with whom they lived.…”

“Si te engancha, compártela en redes sociales”. Efectos conjuntos de la similitud con el protagonista y el contacto imaginado en la intención de compartir una narración corta a favor de la inmigración

“…En este sentido, los resultados de nuestra investigación son convergentes con los últimos estudios realizados sobre el efecto de la similitud en la identificación y transporte narrativo (Chen et al, 2016;Hoeken et al, 2016;Kaufman & Libby, 2012). Sin embargo, entran en contradicción con los resultados obtenidos por Cohen et al (2017), aunque hay que tener en cuenta que en dicho trabajo la similitud no influyó en la percepción de similitud (y tampoco se incluyeron otras medidas de chequeo de la manipulación experimental, como el recuerdo del país de origen del protagonista).…”

“…El primer elemento sobre el que queremos centrar la atención en este trabajo es la similitud de la audiencia con el protagonista del mensaje, dado que la evidencia empírica no es concluyente (Chen, Bell, & Taylor, 2016;Cohen, Weimann-Saks, & Mazor-Tregerman, 2017;de Graaf, 2014;de Graaf et al, 2016;Hoeken et al, 2016;Kim, Shi, & Cappella, 2016;Tukachinsky, 2014). La similitud describe un proceso a través del cual la persona que se expone a un mensaje narrativo evalúa hasta qué punto comparte ciertos rasgos con su protagonista.…”

“…Así, en la revisión de Tukachinsky (2014) solo se contemplan trabajos en donde se había manipulado la similitud en rasgos demográficos como el sexo, la edad, o el origen étnico. En segundo lugar, en dicha revisión no se recogen trabajos más recientes que sí han constatado un efecto de la similitud en la identificación y en las actitudes (Chen et al, 2016;Hoeken et al, 2016;Kim et al, 2016). En tercer lugar, en ocasiones no se ha producido un efecto de la similitud en la identificación, pero sí un efecto indirecto en las actitudes (de Graaf, 2014;Igartua & Fiuza, 2017).…”