her strands of U.S. feminismdisagree,

y that we1 mean every form in which feminists andfeminist ideas exert a governing will within human affairs: to followMichel Foucault’s definition of governmentality, every form in whichfeminists and feminist ideas “conduct the conduct of men.”

Indeed, research has shown that the addition of such exemplars can enhance attention, engagement, and behavioral intent (Kim et al., 2012; Niederdeppe et al., 2011), suggesting that nonfictional narratives may also increase impact.

Thus, in light of the unique property of narratives to overcome resistance, facilitate information processing, and address emotional topic (Kim et al. 2012), understanding the conditions under which different forms of narratives (e.g., news stories, testimonials, fiction) are and are not effective may be critical in eliminating health disparities.

“limitations of health communication may be especially relevant for at-risk populations experiencing health disparities”

Despite being randomly selected, our respondents were also fairly acculturated as they needed to speak English to participate in the study

Our findings should encourage further theoretical exploration of narratives as suggested by the extended elaboration likelihood model (Slater & Rouner, 2002), especially with regard to clarifying the relative importance of perceived similarity versus empathy with specific characters; the relationship between involvement with the narrative, identifying with specific characters and counterarguing; and most importantly, the factors influencing the durability of effects

Thus, heightened emotion, both positive and negative, suppressed desired outcomes in this study. This finding may serve as a cautionary tale to other researchers and future health interventions that employ narrative to carefully pilot whether or not the emotion evoked has the intended effect on the target population. Obviously more research that varies the level, the hedonic valence, and the specific emotion evoked is required (see Dillard & Nabi, 2006 for an extended discussion on emotion and persuasion related to cancer prevention and detection messages).

has been found in other studies (Kim et al., 2012; Murphy et al., 2011).

Subsequent analyses attempted to determine the theoretical mechanisms that underlie the power of narrative.

Although these effect sizes are relatively small, they are nonetheless encouraging for the use of narrative in health communication. Even small effect sizes may have a substantive impact on public health when they reach a large number of people due to mass media interventions (Snyder et al., 2004; Valente, 2002).

Finally, our research question explored how the three theoretical constructs of transportation, identification with specific characters, and emotion relate to the dependent variables of knowledge, attitudes, and behavioral intentions.

In light of the importance of perceived similarity for identification, our second hypothesis was that for women in the narrative condition there will be a difference by race/ethnicity when viewing the film such that Mexican American women will (a) be more transported, (b) identify more strongly with the primary characters, and (c) have a stronger emotional response.

However, these prior studies only include participants from the racial or ethnic target population for whom the narrative materials were designed.

Further transportation or engagement with the narrative along with identification with specific characters should elicit responses consistent with the intent of the intervention (Slater & Rouner, 2002).

extended elaboration likelihood model

According to Bandura's social cognitive theory, people learn not only from direct experience but also by observing others and modeling the observed behaviors (Bandura, 2004). In essence, individuals are more likely to mimic behaviors that they have seen modeled than behaviors that have been recommended but not demonstrated (Bandura, 2004).

Previous research has found identification with narrative characters is positively related to change in cognition (Banerjee & Greene, 2012), attitudes (de Graaf, Hoken, Sanders, & Beentjes, 2011; Igartua & Barrios, 2012), and interpersonal discussion (Sood, 2002), as well as intentions and actual behavior (Moyer-Gusé, Chung, & Jain, 2011). Across various studies, identification has been conceptualized and operationalized in a variety of ways

first hypothesis

his study brought together an interdisciplinary team composed of communication scholars, filmmakers, and medical experts to produce two original films with high production value. Comparing cervical cancer-related knowledge, attitudes, and behavioral intent in a large group of randomly selected women from different racial/ethnic groups both before and after they viewed either the narrative or nonnarrative film allows us to assess whether narratives convey health-related information better than nonnarratives.

esearchers have noted the difficulty in producing or selecting appropriately engaging narrative and nonnarrative messages for comparison within studies. This concern is exacerbated when working with films for which audiences typically expect high production quality. Additionally, it is challenging “for experiments (and internal validity) … to achieve a balance between a strong manipulation and one that is still directly comparable with the nonnarrative version in terms of form, length and content”

nonnarratives “include expository and didactic styles of communication that present propositions in the form of reasons and evidence supporting a claim”

It is important to note that although this study uses a fictional narrative, this does not preclude the possibility that nonfictional narratives such as documentaries, personal stories, or testimonials could also produce effects

The purpose of this study is to build on this ongoing research trajectory and help provide the sort of empirical evidence on the relative efficacy of narratives versus nonnarratives required to propel narratives into mainstream health campaigns and messaging.

past 2 decades

must first address scientifically the question of whether narratives are, “indeed more effective than nonnarrative communication for overcoming resistance, facilitating information processing, providing social connections, and representing emotional and existential issues”

Change at the national level is unlikely without the functional equivalent of randomized clinical trials that contrast the relative effectiveness of health information conveyed using a nonnarrative format against the same information conveyed in a fictional narrative that demonstrates that the narrative is superior. Thus, even while researchers acknowledge the growing role of narrative forms of communication in health promotion (Green, 2006; Hinyard & Kreuter, 2007; Kreuter et al., 2007), it is imperative to build a substantive body of research to establish the relative efficacy of narratives in health communication.

In order to reduce current inequities in the prevalence of and mortality from disease, we need more culturally sensitive health information presented in a more accessible and appealing format.

This research investigates the relative efficacy of changing health-related knowledge, attitudes, and behavioral intentions using a fictional narrative compared to a more traditional nonfictional nonnarrative format.

Moreover, in recent years researchers have argued that narratives and storytelling may be particularly effective for minority populations and racial/ethnic groups with a rich tradition of storytelling

the medical establishment often points to what they consider to be a lack of rigorous evidence that narrative could be a superior conduit