Track 15. Communication, Education and Social Media Authors: Diego Cachón, Juan José Igartua, Magdalena Wojcieszak, Iñigo Guerrero and Isabel Rodríguez-de-Dios

1. Combined Effects of Similarity and Imagined Contact
on First-Person Testimonials. The Mediating Role of
Identification and Transportation
Diego Cachón
UniversityofSalamanca
Juan José Igartua
UniversityofSalamanca
Isabel Rodríguez de Dios
UniversityofSalamanca
Iñigo Guerrero
UniversityofSalamanca
Magdalena Wojcieszak
UniversityofCalifornia Davis
Research work developed thanks to the financial support granted by Spanish Ministry of
Economy and Competitiveness to the project entitled “Narrative tools to reduce
prejudice. Effects of similarity, imagined contact, empathy and narrative voice”
(reference: CSO2015-67611-P).

2. INTRODUCTION
• Nowadays, the use of personal narratives has been extended to newspaper articles, magazine
testimonial ads, online blogs and social media
• Previous literature has shown that these narratives have effects on people’s attitudes, beliefs,
and behaviours (Braddock & Dillard, 2016)
• In this project we aim to study similarity and imagined intergroup contact as factors that can
increase identification and narrative transportation, and, consequently, indirectly influence
attitudes and behavioural intentions.
• We use this focus to improving attitudes toward stigmatized immigrants in Spain through first-
person written testimonials about the life of an immigrant

3. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK:
Narrative Persuasion Theories
• Definition of narrative: is a story about one or more events, that has a clearly identifiable
structure,and relays the ups and downs of one or more characters (Kreuter et al., 2007)
• According to literature on the field of narrative peruasion, those theoretical models that aim to
explain how personal narratives influence individuals, have focused on two major mechanisms:
identification with characters and narrative transportation (Tal-Or & Cohen, 2015; Tukachinsky &
Tokunaga,2013)
• Identification with characters: cognitive-affective process that takes place during reception of the
narrative message and that is linked to perspective-taking or cognitive empathy (putting oneself in the
shoes of the character), emotional empathy (feeling the same emotions as the character) and the
temporary loss of self-awareness (merging with the character) (Cohen, 2001; Igartua & Barrios, 2012;
Moyer-Gusé, 2008)
• Narrative transportation: psychological process that has to do with focusing attention on the story. In
this way, the individual becomes emotionally involved in the story and forms clear and vivid mental
images about the different elements of the story, such as characters and scenarios (Green & Brock,
2000)

4. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK:
Similarity and Imagined Contact
• Similarity refers to a process through which the reader shares, whit the protagonist of
the story, some objective traits, such as demographics, or subjective characteristics, such
as values or experiences
• Previous research is inconclusive regarding the effects of similarity on transportation and
identification (Chen, Bell, & Taylor, 2016; Cohen, Weimann-Saks, & Mazor-Tregerman, 2017;
de Graaf, 2014; de Graaf et al., 2016; Hoeken et al., 2016; Kim, Shi, & Cappella, 2016;
Tukachinsky, 2014)
• Imagined contact is defined as “the mental simulation of a social interaction with a
member or members of an outgroup category” (Miles & Crisp, 2013, p. 4).
• According to the hypothesis of imagined intergroup contact (Crisp & Turner, 2009), prejudice
can be reduced simply by imagining a positive encounter with an outgroup member (e.g., an
immigrant)

5. OBJECTIVES
• The main goal of this study is to test the effect of the optimal reception condition (high
similarity + imagined contact) on narrative transportation and identification with the
protagonist, and the subsequent impact on attitudesand behavioural intentions
• We use first-person short testimonial messages designed for improving attitudes and
behaviours towards stigmatized groups (Moroccan immigrants in this occasion)
• We conceptualise the optimal reception condition as a condition in which participants receive
instructions to stimulate the imagined intergroup contact just before reading a first-person
testimonial featured by a Moroccan immigrant, portrayed as highly similar to the participants

6. HYPOTHESES
• H1.: The optimal reception
condition will induce greater
identification with the protagonist
(H1a) and greater narrative
transportation (H1b) than the
referencecondition.
• H2.: The optimal reception
condition will induce greater
identification and narrative
transportation, which in turn will be
associated with a more positive
attitude towards immigration (H2a),
a higher intention of intergroup
contact (H2b) and a higher intention
of sharing the message (H2c)

7. METHOD
Sample and procedure
• This experiment has a 2x2 factorial design, in which we manipulate two independent
variables: similarity in terms of social identity and imagined contact.
• Sample: 400 Spaniards (N=400) whose parents were Spanish as well. The sample was
representative of the Spanish population, with 50% of women and an average age of 40.41
years (SD = 12.16, range: 18-65).
• Procedure:
1. Participants filled the pre-test questionnaire (sociodemographic variables)
2. Participante were randomly assigned to one of the two conditions of imagined contact
3. Participants were randomly assigned to one of the two conditions of similarity
4. Participants filled the post-test questionnaire (dependent variables):
Ø Perceived similarity (manipulation check); Identification (⍺ = .95, M = 2.97, SD = 1.22); Transportation(α = .89, M =
4.58, SD = 0.95); Behavioral intentions (a = .87; M = 4.45, SD = 1.51); Attitudes towards immigration(a = .83, M =
4.64, SD = 1.09); Message-sharing intention (α = .94, M = 4.26, SD = 1.18)

8. METHOD
Imagined intergroup contact manipulation
IMAGINED CONTACT CONDITION
Participants received the following instructions
before read the story(Hunsu & Crisp,2010):
“You will read a short story, in which a person
shares his experiences related to living in Spain.
Before reading the story, we would like you to
spend the next 2 min imagining yourself
meeting a Moroccan immigrant for the first
time. While imagining this think specifically of
when (e.g. next Thursday) and where (e.g. the
bus stop) this conversation might occur. Imagine
that the interaction is positive, relaxed, and
comfortable. It may help to close your eyes while
imagining the conversation”
CONTROL CONDITION
Participants received the following instructions
before read the story:
“You will read a short story, in which a
person shares his experiences related to
living in Spain. Before reading the story, we
would like you to spend the next 2 min
imagining an outdoor scene. Try to imagine
aspects of the scene about you (e.g., is it a
beach, a forest, are there trees, hills, what’s
on the horizon). It may help to close your
eyes while imagining the outdoor scene”

9. METHOD
Similarity in terms of social identity manipulation
HIGH SIMILARITY CONDITION LOW SIMILARITY CONDITION
The narrative protagonist (Saîd)
emphasized:
… feeling Spanish (versus
Moroccan
in the low similarity condition),
… that his friends are mainly
Spanish
(Moroccan),
… that his favorite food is Spanish
(Moroccan),
… that he usually speaks to his
children in Spanish (Arabic),
… that he reads mainly Spanish
(Moroccan) newspapers,
… and that he identifies with
Spanish (Moroccan) culture and
its flag.
… that he wishes to remain in the
Spain (go back to Morocco),

10. RESULTS
H.1. Combined effect of Similarity and Imagined Contact on
Transportation and Identification whit the protagonist
• Two analyses of variance (ANOVA) were
conducted, whit the experimental
condition as the independent variable
and identification whit the protagonist
and transportation as the dependent
variables
• Besides, a planned contrast analysis (-1,
0, 0, 1) was carried out to compare the
optimal reception condition (condition
4: imagined contact and high similarity,
coefficient 1) to the reference condition
(condition 1: no imagined contact and
low similarity,coefficient -1).
Hypothesis 1 was confirmed

11. PROCESS for SPSS (Model 4; 10,000 bootstrapped samples with 95% bias-corrected confidence
intervals; Hayes, 2013, 2018): to estimate the (relative) indirect effect of the optimal reception
condition (D3) on attitudes, intended intergroup contact, and message-sharing intention, as mediated
by identification and transportation.
RESULTS
H2. Mediation effects

12. Optimal reception
condition (D3)
(imagined contact + high
similarity narrative)
Identification (M1)
Attitudes toward immigration (Y1)
Intergroup contact intention (Y2)
Message-sharing intention (Y3)
Transportation(M2)
+
+
+
+
H2a
H2b
H2c
RESULTS
H2. Mediation effects
Hypothesis
2 was
confirmed

13. DISSCUSSION
• The results obtained after the analyses allow us to confirm our theoretical model. Both
mechanisms(transportationand identification) explained the effect of the optimal reception
condition (high similarity + imagined contact) on the three dependent variables (attitudes toward
inmigration, behauvioral intentions and intention to share the message).
• A new concept to narrative persuasion research: optimal reception condition.
• To clarify the relatively inconclusive evidence regarding the effects of similarity.
• A new dimension of similarity: Similarity in terms of social identity. It is possible that certain types of
similarity are more effective than others in provoking identification and narrative transportation.
• Imagined contact as a mental training that can facilitate the effect of similarity on identification and
transportation
• Message-sharing intention (new dependent variable). Because people may avoid stories about
marginalized groups, sharing on social media a message featuring an outgroup member may be an
indicator of communicative success.

14. THANKS FOR YOUR ATTENTION!
diego.cachon@usal.es