When Bad Things Happen to a Protagonist Like You: The Role of Self in Resistance to Negatively Framed Health Narratives

Abstract

This study examines when and how shared risk-relevant experience (autobiographic similarity) influences resistance to negatively framed health narratives. We conducted a 2 (narrative perspective: 1st vs. 3rd person) × 2 (processing motive: experiential vs. analytical) randomized experiment with a short narrative depicting the negative effects of an illicitly used study drug. For those autobiographically similar to the study drug user, a 1st-person narration (vs. 3rd-person) produced greater transportation only when participants processed to understand the story (experiential condition), whereas the reverse was found when participants processed for the persuasive message (analytical condition). Transportation was a significant mediator that transferred these interactive effects onto greater perceived risk only among those with autobiographic similarity. This study highlights the active role played by the audience’s self-concept in narrative persuasion and addresses boundary conditions for overcoming defensive resistance.