Processes and mechanisms of narrative persuasion in entertainment-education interventions through audiovisual fiction. The role of identification with characters

Processes and mechanisms of narrative persuasion in entertainment-‐‑education interventions through

audiovisual fiction. The role of identification with characters

Juan-José Igartua1 & Jair Vega2

1 University of Salamanca (Spain) – 2 Universidad del Norte (Colombia)

TEEM’14 Techological Ecosystems for Enhancing Multiculturality

Salamanca, October 1-3, 2014 Track 6: “Communiction, Education and Health Promotion”

Main goal To improve our knowledge of the

explanatory processes of narrative persuasion in the field of health

communication using data obtained in a study of

entertainment-education based on audiovisual fiction.

Introduction Empirical study:

•  Experimental research.

•  208 participants. •  Mediation analysis.

Theroretical background:

•  Narrative persuasion. •  Entertainment-Education

approach and health communication.

•  TV series: “Revelados, desde todas las posiciones” (Colombia).

Narrative persuasion •  How exposure to (fictional)

narratives designed to entertain can cause persuasive effects (Green & Brock, 2000).

•  Narratives (such as television series or movies) are processed differently from traditional persuasive messages (such as commercial advertisements), (Slater & Rouner, 2002).

Traditional persuasive messages versus narratives

Persuasive messages Narratives

•  Contain list of arguments in an explicit way.

•  Show a clear educational or attitudinal goal.

•  Processing goal: to develop a correct attitude.

•  Illustrate through the presentation of events.

•  Action is focused on the main characters.

•  Designed for enjoyment.

•  Processing goal: to become involved in the story and on the characters.

Dual models versus narrative persuasion models

•  Main process in dual models of rethorical persuasion (e.g., ELM): cognitive elaboration (reflection, issue-relevant thoughts).

•  Main process (mechanisms) of narrative persuasion: transportation and identification with the characters.

Identification with characters Identifying with characters is an imaginative process

that involves the temporal replacement of own’s identity with that of a character from an affective and

cognitive point of view (Cohen, 2001).

Emotional empathy (the ability to feel what the characters feel).

Cognitive empathy (adopting the point of view of the characters).

Merging (a temporal loss of self-‐‑awareness and imagining the story as if one were one of the characters).

Narrative models in Health Communication

•  Extended Elaboration Likelihood Model, E-ELM, (Slater & Rouner, 2002).

•  Entertainment Overcoming Resistance Model, EORM (Moyer-Gusé, 2008).

Identification with the characters

Counterarguing AKitudinal impact

-‐‑ -‐‑

BUT, empirical research into this topic is in its early stages and has shown

contradictory findings.

TV series and Entertainment-‐‑Education

•  Even though narrative formats do not explicitly present arguments from an external source, these can appear in dialogues taking place among characters during certain moments of the story.

Fictional narrative formats (e.g., TV series) designed to bring about positive social change show a clear educational component.

Identification and cognitive processes

Two possible relationships between identification and cognitive processes.

①  Identification (empathy dimension) can stimulate involvement with the messages “(…) which, in turn, increases the elaboration of messages and their potential persuasive effects” (Cohen, 2001, p. 260).

②  Identification (which also involves a temporary loss of self-awareness) most likely would lead to a less critical reading of the message.

Our main objective To test to what extent the attitudinal impact caused by exposure to fictional audiovisual

contents designed as entertainment-education platforms (through the Colombian

television series “Revelados, desde todas las posiciones”) is explained because

identification leads to a greater reflection or rather to a greater counterarguing.

Hypotheses

Hypothesized Mediation Model: indirect effects of identification with the characters on aKitudes through cognitive elaboration and

counterarguing

Method •  N = 208 participants (age 14-20, mean = 15.85; 51.9%

women). •  An experimental study (in Cololmbia, 2013). •  TV series “Revelados, desde todas las

posiciones” (RDTP).

https://www.youtube.com/user/REVELADOSDTP

•  Participants were randomly divided in three groups (each group a different RDTP episode).

•  The impact of viewing the episodes was assessed though a questionnaire containing scales to measure reception processes and attitudinal impact.

RDTP •  RDTP is a television series

addressed to young people between the ages of 12 and 19, produced by the Fundación Imaginario in Colombia.

•  Educational contents: sexual relation, sexual diversity and gender violence.

•  First season: 20 episodes lasting about 15 minutes each and presents a story with continuity from one episode to another.

The main characters: Camila, Juan Carlos, Vanessa and Sebastián.

RDTP: Episodes and topics Episode 8: Adolescent sexuality: this episode aKempts to reinforce positive beliefs about sexual decision-‐‑making. Camila is the main character of the episode transmiKing the educational message.

Episode 10: Gender violence: to reinforce an aKitude of rejection of gender violence. Vanessa is the main character of the episode transmiKing the educational message.

Episode 17: Expressing homosexual feelings: to reinforce a positive aKitude toward gay men who decide to openly express their sexual orientation . Juan Carlos is the main character of the episode transmiKing the educational message.

Instruments and variables •  Identifiction with the main

characters (11 items scale; αCamila = .86, αVanessa = .89, αSebastian = .91, αJuan Carlos = .89).

•  Cognitive elaboration (4 itmes scale; α= .83).

•  Counterarguing (4 items scale; α= .72).

•  Attitudinal impact: different topics (adolescent sexuality, gender violence and sexual diversity).

•  A questionnaire administered to the participants immediately after they viewed the episode.

Results •  Macro PROCESS for SPSS (Hayes, 2013). •  A mediation model with two mediating

variables that operate in sequence (model 6). •  The indirect effect was calculated using 10,000

bootstrap samples for bias-corrected bootstrap confidence intervals.

•  An indirect effect is considered statistically significant if the confidence interval established (CI at 95%) does not include the value 0.

Mediation model: Chapter 8

Identification with Camila

Cognitive elaboration

Positive aKitude toward sexual

decision-‐‑making

Counterarguing

Indirect effect Identification -‐‑> Cognitive elaboration -‐‑> AKitudes

B = .28, SE = .14, 95% CI [.01, .65]

.72 *** .40 *

.51 ***

Direct effect = .23

-‐‑.07 -‐‑.16

* p < .05, *** p < .001

Total effect = .47 **


Identification with Vanessa


Negative aKitude toward gender

violence

Counterarguing


B = .33, SE = .13, 95% CI [.10, .65]

.57 *** .58 **

.34 **

Direct effect = -‐‑.12

.28 * -‐‑.17

* p < .05, ** p < .01, *** p < .001

Total effect = .12


Identification with Juan Carlos


Positve aKitude toward gay men

coming out

Counterarguing


B = .18, SE = .12, 95% CI [.02, .54]

.48 * .37 *

.18

Direct effect = -‐‑.31

.05 .36 +

+ p < .10, * p < .05, *** p < .001

Total effect = -‐‑.07

Discussion and conclusions •  This study confirm the

important role of identification with characters as one of the mechanism of narrative persuasion.

•  A greater identification with the main character was associated with a greater cognitive elaboration, in turn leading to prosocial attitudes.

•  Counterarguing did not play a significant mediating role.

The models of narrative persuasion and the dual models of rhetorical persuasion may be compatible in certain contexts, such as when messages are designed in such a way that the characters make explicit the arguments supporting the prosocial or preventive message through their dialogues.

Thank you very much!

Juan-‐‑José Igartua (*) University of Salamanca, Spain

(*) Contact: [email protected]

hKp://www.ocausal.es