How to Improve Attitudes Toward Disliked Groups: The Effects of Narrative Versus Numerical Evidence on Political Persuasion. (August 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Wojcieszak, Magdalena; Kim, Nuri
• Is Part Of: Communication research. Volume 43:Number 6(2016:Aug.)
• Page Start: 785
• Page End: 809
• Publication Date: 2016-08
• Subjects: narratives -- message effects -- evidence -- attitudes -- out-groups -- transportation -- empathy -- immigration -- same-sex marriage; Communication -- Research -- Periodicals; 302.2
• DOI: 10.1177/0093650215618480
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0093-6502

Abstract

We propose a model of how messages about groups one personally dislikes affect individual attitudes. We build upon theories of message persuasion and out-group acceptance to account for evidence type (numerical vs. narrative), facilitating conditions (encouraging empathy vs. objectivity), and the underlying mechanisms (immersion). We test this model in a pretest-posttest experiment, in which a sample of Americans ( N = 601) read counter-attitudinal commentaries below articles presenting either narrative or numerical evidence about illegal immigrants or same-sex couples. Narratives led to greater message acceptance and greater immersion, especially in the empathetic condition. In turn, numerical messages led to self-perceived attitude change in the objective condition. Persuasive effects of narratives in the empathetic, but not the objective, condition were mediated by immersion.