Framing in entertainment-education: Effects on processes of narrative persuasion

Nowadays, entertainment-education (E-E) is often used as a persuasive strategy to stimulate prosocial behavior. Although E-E is mostly regarded as a persuasive strategy in itself, in an increasing number of E-E programs several persuasive strategies are used to communicate the educational message to the audience. This study investigates the effects of a strategy widely used in health communication, but not previously studied in the field of E-E: framing. To this means we examined the effect of two different ways an E-E message can be framed: by emphasizing either the losses of not performing the behavior in question or the gains of performing this behavior. A serial multiple mediation model showed that framing affected intention to refrain from drunk cycling via counterarguing and attitude toward drunk cycling; the use of a gain frame decreased counterarguing, which decreased the attitude toward drunk cycling. This subsequently resulted in a higher intention to refrain from this behavior. Implications of these results are discussed

The more you say, the less they hear: the effect of disclosures in entertainment-education

This study examined the effects of disclosure messages in entertainment-education (E-E) on attitudes toward hearing protection and attitude toward the source. In addition, the (mediating) role of the underlying mechanisms (i.e., transportation, identification, and counterarguing) was studied. In an experiment (N = 336), three different disclosure messages were compared with a no-disclosure condition. The results show that more explicit disclosure messages negatively affect transportation and identification and stimulate the generation of counterarguments. In addition, the more explicit disclosure messages affect both attitude measures via two of these processes (i.e., transportation and counterarguing). Less explicit disclosure messages do not have this effect. Implications of the findings are discussed

Educational storylines in entertainment television: Audience reactions toward persuasive strategies in medical dramas

Medical television drama series provide an important source of health information. This form of entertainment-education (E-E) can be used to influence knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors toward health-related issues. In the literature, E-E is generally regarded as a persuasive strategy in itself, whereas in an increasing number of E-E programs, several different persuasive strategies are used. An important question is how the audience ethically evaluates these strategies. The aim of the present study is to examine viewers' ethical judgments toward the use of three persuasive strategies in E-E: product placement, framing, and persuasion toward a controversial position. A survey among 525 viewers of 5 popular medical dramas demonstrates that viewers evaluate the use of the currently investigated attitudinal statements about potential persuasive strategies in E-E as being immoral and that viewers prefer neutral storylines. Adopting a strategy that viewers find inappropriate may interfere with the intended prosocial effects of E-E. A broader understanding of the appropriate and inappropriate uses of persuasive strategies in E-E is indispensable for effective E-E productions