Track 16. Doctoral Consortium Authors: Diego Cachón and Juan José Igartua https://youtu.be/BDdmc7uKjbc

1. “Impact of the narrative formats on the behavior improvement in
relation to the socially stigmatized groups: the effect of empathy
and similarity in terms of social identity”
Diego Cachón
Observatorio de los Contenidos Audiovisuales
University of Salamanca
diego.cachon@usal.es
Juan José Igartua
Observatorio de los Contenidos Audiovisuales
University of Salamanca
jigartua@usal.es
TEEM’16
DOCTORAL CONSORTIUM
Communication Media and Education

2. The main subject of research projected in this paper is to study the effect of
the narrative formats on the reduction of negative prejudices and
worldviews toward various socially stigmatized groups (as a collective of
immigrants). Two experiments that analyze the impact of narration’s effect
on the attitude in regard to the stigmatized groups will be conducted, paying
particular attention to role of empathy, identification with the characters
and the similarity in terms of social identity.
* Keywords: Narrative formats; stigmatized groups; prejudice reduction;
narrative persuasion; empathy; identification with the characters; similarity
in terms of social identity.

3.  Main topic: the effect of the narrative formats on the reduction of
prejudice toward various socially stigmatized or discriminated groups
◦ Two Experiments using short fiction narrations on which the main character
belongs to a certain stigmatized groups
 It’s very important to have the best knowledge of the narrative
persuasion’s mechanisms that are capable of creating positive
changes in behavior and beliefs toward the socially stigmatized
collectives
 Thesis directly related to the study carried out by the Observatorio de los
Contenidos Audiovisuales, of the University of Salamanca, titled "Narrative
tools to reduce the prejudice. Effects of similarity, imagined contact,
empathy and narrative voice“; a project managed by Juan José Igartua
and financed by the MEC.

4.  Narrative persuasion:
◦ Studies “how the information situated within the
narratives can affect the perception of reality"
(Dahlstrom 2010, p. 858).
◦ Transportation Theory (Green and Brock, 2000)
and Extended-Elaboration Likelihood Model
(Slater and Rouner, 2002) recognize the absorption
and identification with the characters as the main
mechanisms responsible for that effect (Igartua,
2007)
◦ By means of identification with the characters,
increase the possibility of people to agree with the
arguments contained in the narrations (Moyer-
Gusé, 2008)

5.  Social Psychology:
◦ Social Identity Theory (Tajfel, 1982), states that, people tend to express
an endogroupal favoritism and an exogroupal discrimination (a
prejudice)
◦ One of the main approaches in order to reduce the prejudice toward the
stigmatized groups is the incitement of emotional processes, such as
empathy (Batson et al, 1997)
◦ The impact of narrative fictions with a positive image of minorities and
identification with minorities characters, have been associated with a
more positive attitude towards the members of minority groups (Ortiz and
Harwood, 2007).

6.  Main Objective:
◦ To study the effect of narrative formats (short fiction narrations) in the
reduction of prejudices toward the various socially stigmatized
groups
 Especific objectives:
◦ To analyze the effect of empathy (high degree of empathy VS low
degree of empathy) in the attitude toward the stigmatized group.
◦ To analyze the effect of similarity in terms of social identity (high
degree of similarity VS low degree of similarity) in the attitude toward
the stigmatized group.
◦ To test both, the role of identification with the characters as a
mediator variable, and the role of similarity in terms of social identity
as a moderator variable; in the effect of empathy on the attitude
toward the stigmatized group.

7.  H1a: Experimental condition of the high degree of empathy will lead to
the higher levels of identification with the characters, than the
condition of low degree of empathy.
 H1b: Experimental condition of the high degree of empathy will lead to
the better attitude toward the members of stigmatized collectives,
than the condition of low degree of empathy.
 H2a: Experimental condition of the high degree of similarity in terms
of social identity will lead to the higher levels of identification with
the characters, than the condition of low degree of similarity in terms
of social identity.
 H2b: Experimental condition of the high degree of similarity in terms
of social identity will lead to the improving attitude toward the
members of stigmatized collectives, than the condition of low degree
of similarity in terms of social identity.

8.  H3a: Identification with the characters will act as a mediator
variable of the effect of empathy on the attitude toward members of the
stigmatized collectives.
 H3b: Similarity in terms of social identity will act as a moderator
variable of the effect of empathy on the attitude toward the members of
the stigmatized collectives.

9.  Two experimental studies with a 2 x 2 factorial design, wherein two
independent variables will be manipulated: similarity in terms of social
identity (high degree of similarity VS low degree of similarity) and the
induced empathy (high degree of empathy VS low degree of empathy)
Experiment 1: Experiment 2:
Manipulation of
empathy
By instruction before
the exposition to the
stimulus materials
We will try to find
alternative ways to
manipulate the
empathy
Stimulus
materials
Short fiction
narrations (in text
format)
Short fiction
narrations (in
audiovisual format)
Stigmatized
group
Collective of
inmigrants
Other stigmatized
collective (not
determinated yet)

10.  To date, there are no results that could be presented, as the thesis
project is at its initial stage, and for several months we will continue
studying the bibliography and we begin to work on the creation of
stories which will serve as stimulus materials.

11.  Knowledge of the explanatory processes of the narrative
persuasion , which are capable to influence the behavior and
beliefs related to the subject described in a certain story, will allow
us to develop and create effective fiction products, for
changing the behavior and beliefs toward the socially
stigmatized groups.
◦ All this without losing any entertainment potential, and while the resultant
products can't be perceived as a persuasive message by the public.

12.  Batson, C. D., Polycarpou, M. P., Harmon-Jones, E., Imhoff, H. J., Mitchener, E. C., Bednar, L. L., Klein, T.
R., y Highberger, L. (1997). Empathy and attitudes: can feelings for a member of a stigmatized group
improve feelings toward the group? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 72(1), 105-118.
 Dal Cin, S., Zanna, M. P., y Fong, G. T. (2002). Narrative persuasion and overcoming resistance. En E. S.
Knowles y J. A. Linn (Eds.), Resistance and persuasion (pp. 175-191). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum
Associates.
 Dahlstrom, M. F. (2010). The role of causality in information acceptance in narratives: an example from
science communication. Communication Research, 37(6), 857-875.
 Green, M. C., y Brock, T. C. (2000). The role of transportation in the persuasiveness of public narratives.
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 79(5), 701-721.
 Hayes, A. F. (2013). Introduction to mediation, moderation, and conditional process analysis: A regression-
based approach. Nueva York, NY: Guilford Press.
 Igartua, J. J. (2007). Persuasión narrativa: El papel de la identificación con los personajes a través de las
culturas. Editorial Club Universitario.
 Igartua, J. J., y Páez, D. (1998). Validez y fiabilidad de una escala de empatía e identificación con los
personajes. Psicothema, 10(2), 423-436.
 MINECO, (2012). Posición española sobre “Horizonte 2020”. Recuperado el 22 de febrero de 2015, de
http://www.idi.mineco.gob.es/stfls/MICINN/Investigacion/FICHEROS/Internacional/Posicion_espanola_Hori
zonte_2020.pdf
 Moyer-Gusé, E. (2008). Toward a theory of entertainment persuasion: explaining the persuasive effects of
entertainment-education messages. Communication Theory, 18(3), 407-425.
 Ortiz, M., & Harwood, J. (2007). A social cognitive theory approach to the effects of mediated intergroup
contact on intergroup attitudes. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 51(4), 615-631.
 Slater, M. D., y Rouner, D. (2002). Entertainment-education and elaboration likelihood: understanding the
processing of narrative persuasion. Communication Theory, 12(2), 173-191.
 Tajfel, H. (1982). Social identity and intergroup relations. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.