Article published in:
Narrative Inquiry
Vol. 24:2 (2014) ► pp. 309–327

Emotional engagement with the plot and characters

A narrative film on hearing-impaired sexual assault victims

| Yeungnam University
| Kyung Hee University
| Annenberg School for Communication, University of Pennsylvania

Based on the Extended-Elaboration Likelihood Model and the Entertainment Overcoming Resistance Model, this study examines the relationships between several variables believed to moderate or mediate narrative effects, including (a) prior issue/topic involvement; (b) plot engagement (transportation); (c) character affiliation/alignment (sympathy and empathy); and (d) narrative-consistent behavioral intentions. The results based on respondents who viewed a movie detailing the abuse of hearing-impaired individuals indicate that prior involvement predicted narrative transportation and emotions (both sympathy and empathy); narrative transportation predicted emotions; and narrative transportation and sympathy predicted narrative-consistent behavioral intentions. The respondents who viewed the movie (707 respondents) were more likely to show narrative-consistent behavioral intentions than those who did not (323). These results have important theoretical and practical implications.

Keywords: plot engagement, character affiliation/alignment, emotional engagement, transportation, sympathy, empathy
Published online: 24 November 2014
https://doi.org/10.1075/ni.24.2.07bae
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