Personal narratives to improve attitudes towards stigmatized immigrants: A parallel-serial mediation model

This work addresses the study of factors that increase the persuasive efficacy of testimonial messages aimed at improving intergroup attitudes. The results of two online experiments ( N = 840) on the effect of empathy with, and similarity to, the protagonist in personal stories designed to improve attitudes towards immigrants are presented. In both studies, participants were given instructions to induce a certain exposure condition (empathy vs. an objective or distanced perspective) immediately before reading a narrative whose protagonist was an immigrant with high or low similarity to the audience. The results of mediation analysis show that both empathy and similarity increased identification and narrative transportation, which in turn reduced counterarguing, thus resulting in a more positive attitude towards the outgroup and lower threat perception. The results are discussed in the context of research on narrative persuasion and the design of campaigns to reduce racism and xenophobia.

Web-Based Behavioral Intervention Utilizing Narrative Persuasion for HIV Prevention Among Chinese Men Who Have Sex With Men (HeHe Talks Project): Intervention Development

Background In the era of potent antiretroviral therapy, a high level of condomless anal intercourse continues to drive increases in HIV incidence in recent years among men who have sex with men. Effective behavior change strategies for promoting HIV-preventive behaviors are warranted. Narrative persuasion is a novel health communication approach that has demonstrated its persuasive advantages in overcoming resistance to counterattitudinal messages. The efficacy of narrative persuasion in promoting health behavior changes has been well documented, but critical research gaps exist for its application to HIV prevention. Objective In this study, we aimed to (1) capitalize on narrative persuasion to design a web-based multisession intervention for reducing condomless anal intercourse among men who have sex with men in Hong Kong (the HeHe Talks Project) by following a systematic development process; and (2) describe the main components of the narrative intervention that potentially determine its persuasiveness. Methods Persuasive themes and subtopics related to reducing condomless anal intercourse were initially proposed based on epidemiological evidence. The biographic narrative interview method was used to elicit firsthand experiential stories from a maximum variation sample of local men who have sex with men with diverse backgrounds and experiences related to HIV prevention; different types of role models were established accordingly. Framework analysis was used to aggregate the original quotations from narrators into collective narratives under 6 intervention themes. A dedicated website was finally developed for intervention delivery. Results A series of video-based intervention messages in biographic narrative format (firsthand experiential stories shared by men who have sex with men) combined with topic-equivalent argumentative messages were produced and programmed into 6 intervention sessions. The 6-week intervention program can be automatically delivered and monitored online. Conclusions We systematically created a web-based HIV prevention intervention derived from peer-generated stories. Strategies used to enhance the efficacy of the narrative intervention have been discussed within basic communication components. This paper describes the methods and experiences of the rigorous development of a narrative communication intervention for HIV prevention, which enables replication of the intervention in the future.

Narratives are Persuasive Because They are Easier to Understand: Examining Processing Fluency as a Mechanism of Narrative Persuasion

Theory suggests that people are more persuaded by information presented within a narrative. We argue there is room for greater understanding about why this may be the case. Accordingly, we 1) examine whether narratives are indeed more persuasive than non-narratives and 2) evaluate two theoretical mechanisms that could be responsible for these effects. Results from a laboratory-based, preregistered experiment (N = 554) support our primary argument that narratives are processed more fluently (easily) than non-narratives, and when processing is eased, persuasion becomes more likely. This work offers a parsimonious and powerful explanation for the advantages of providing persuasive information within a narrative format and advances theory in narrative persuasion.