The Role of Causality in Information Acceptance in Narratives: An Example From Science Communication

• Published in: Communication research 2010-12, Vol.37 (6), p.857-875
• Main Author: Dahlstrom, Michael F.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Causality; Cognition & reasoning; Communication research; Content analysis; Discourse analysis; Influence; Narratives; Psychology
• ISSN: 0093-6502; 1552-3810
• DOI: 10.1177/0093650210362683

Narratives represent a powerful and ubiquitous form of communication that influence what individuals believe about the world. While the field of narrative persuasion investigates how narratives affect attitudes and behaviors, it rarely considers structural variables discussed in the field of discourse psychology. This study examines the utility of bridging these fields by testing the persuasive influence of novel science information relative to the internal causal structure of a narrative. Results suggest that information placed at causal locations of a narrative result in greater acceptance of information than the same information placed at noncausal locations within the same narrative. These findings suggest that the within-narrative variable of causality can influence the persuasive impact of information inserted into a narrative. In response, this study identifies a significant source of variance that has thus far been overlooked in studies of narrative persuasion.