Can Brief Narratives Change Readers’ Minds About Consequential Choices? Maybe Not

EasyChair Preprint 13937

Abstract

Narrative texts are easier to understand and remember than expository texts, but are they also more influential or persuasive? Prior evidence is mixed. An experiment with 824 undergraduates tested whether brief narrative texts could influence participants’ reported preferences about end-of-life medical treatments. The hypothesis that narrative texts would be more influential than expository texts was not confirmed. Preferences were, however, influenced more by reading about what doctors prefer for themselves than by what non-physicians prefer.

Keyphrases: Expository, Health, decision making, narrative

@booklet{EasyChair:13937,
  author    = {David Allbritton},
  title     = {Can Brief Narratives Change Readers’ Minds About Consequential Choices? Maybe Not},
  howpublished = {EasyChair Preprint 13937},
  year      = {EasyChair, 2024}}