The Moderating Influence of Narrative Causality as an Untapped Pool of Variance for Narrative Persuasion

Abstract

This study examines if accounting for the causal location of information within a narrative can improve the predictability of narrative persuasion. Using perceived realism as a variable of narrative persuasion and environmental communication as a context, results reveal a significant moderating influence of the location of information relative to the cause-and-effect structure of the narrative. Specifically, external realism increased the acceptance of narrative information, but only after accounting for the additional variance of location and only for the subset of information on the causal line of the narrative. Future studies should continue to explore how the variance associated with this narrative causality can be leveraged toward a more nuanced understanding of narrative persuasion.