This document summarizes a study on narrative persuasion in entertainment-education interventions. The study examined how identification with characters in a Colombian television series called "Revelados" impacted attitudes. 208 participants viewed different episodes and completed surveys. Results showed that greater identification with main characters led to more cognitive elaboration of the health messages, which in turn shaped more positive attitudes. Specifically, identifying with characters who discussed adolescent sexuality, gender violence, and coming out led viewers to think more about and accept those messages. Counterarguing did not significantly mediate effects. The findings provide evidence that identification is a key mechanism of narrative persuasion for entertainment-education.

1. TEEM’14
Techological Ecosystems for Enhancing Multiculturality
Salamanca, October 1-3, 2014
Track 6: “Communiction, Education and Health Promotion”
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)

2. 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.

3. 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).

4. 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).

5. 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.

6. 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.

7. 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).

8. 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.

9. 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.

10. 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.

11. 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.

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

13. 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.

14. 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.

15. 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.

16. 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.

17. 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.

18. 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 **

19. Mediation model: Chapter 10
Identification
with Vanessa
Cognitive
elaboration
Negative aKitude
toward gender
violence
Total effect = .12
Counterarguing
Indirect effect
Identification -­‐‑> Cognitive elaboration -­‐‑> AKitudes
B = .33, SE = .13, 95% CI [.10, .65]
.57 ***
.58 **
.34 **
Direct effect = -­‐‑.12
.28 *
-­‐‑.17
* p < .05, ** p < .01, *** p < .001

20. Mediation model: Chapter 17
Identification
with Juan Carlos
Cognitive
elaboration
Positve aKitude
toward gay men
coming out
Total effect = -­‐‑.07
Counterarguing
Indirect effect
Identification -­‐‑> Cognitive elaboration -­‐‑> AKitudes
B = .18, SE = .12, 95% CI [.02, .54]
.48 *
.37 *
.18
Direct effect = -­‐‑.31
.05
.36 +
+ p < .10, * p < .05, *** p < .001

21. 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.

23. Thank you very much!
Juan-­‐‑José Igartua (*)
University of Salamanca, Spain
hKp://www.ocausal.es
(*) Contact: jigartua@usal.es