Open AccessNarrative Health Communication and Behavior Change: The Influence of Exemplars in the News on Intention to Quit Smoking
Author(s) -
Kim Hyun Suk,
Bigman Cabral A.,
Leader Amy E.,
Lerman Caryn,
Cappella Joseph N.
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
journal of communication
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.752
H-Index - 131
eISSN - 1460-2466
pISSN - 0021-9916
DOI - 10.1111/j.1460-2466.2012.01644.x
Subject(s) - narrative , health communication , medicine , library science , psychology , media studies , sociology , literature , social science , art , computer science
This study investigated psychological mechanisms underlying the effect of narrative health communication on behavioral intention. Specifically, the study examined how exemplification in news about successful smoking cessation affects recipients' narrative engagement, thereby changing their intention to quit smoking. Nationally representative samples of U.S. adult smokers participated in 2 experiments. The results from the 2 experiments consistently showed that smokers reading a news article with an exemplar experienced greater narrative engagement compared to those reading an article without an exemplar. Those who reported more engagement were in turn more likely to report greater smoking cessation intentions.