Transportation and Transportability in the Cultivation of Genre-Consistent Attitudes and Estimates

Abstract

The concept of transportation into narrative (Green & Brock, 2002) is used to gain new insights into cultivation processes. A theoretical framework is developed where cultivation is seen as the result of a self-reinforcing interaction between persuasive and motivational effects of transportation: Repeated highly transportive experiences contribute to the overall cultivation effect by adjusting the viewers' worldviews after each exposure. At the same time, viewers are motivated to return to programming of a given genre because transportation is an enjoyable experience. Our study uses transportability as an indicator of repeated transportive experiences and seeks to test its validity and usefulness for cultivation research. Results indicate that transportability predicts transportation within specific viewing experiences. Although no linear moderation effects of transportability are found, the data suggest a nonlinear moderation. Genre-consistent attitudes held prior to exposure facilitate transportation, but transportation was not consistently related to increases in genre-related judgments after a single exposure. Limitations of the transportability measure to represent repeated transportive exposures are discussed.

The State of Cultivation

“…Busselle et al suggest that future assessments of ''perceived realism,'' an ongoing contentious issue in cultivation research, should not be about comparing the program to the ''real world'' but about assessing the program's narrative realism. Bilandzic and Busselle (2008) elaborate this into a model where narrative ''transportation'' is a key feature of the cultivation process. Transportation into a story means adopting a less critical mindset toward it, and becoming completely involved in the story.…”

Using narratives and storytelling to communicate science with nonexpert audiences

“…Fictional narratives often contain elements within them that are truthful (58), and individuals readily use information from fictional stories to answer questions about the world (59,60). In fact, cultivation theory discussed in the previous section has been described as the cumulative effect of long-term narrative persuasion from fictional entertainment media (61).…”

“Si te engancha, compártela en redes sociales”. Efectos conjuntos de la similitud con el protagonista y el contacto imaginado en la intención de compartir una narración corta a favor de la inmigración

“…Según el Modelo de Transporte Narrativo (Transportation-Imagery Model) de Green y Brock (2002), los tres procesos darían cuenta del estado de transporte narrativo y, este a su vez, conducirá a cambios en las creencias sobre el mundo social representado en la narración. La investigación sobre el papel del transporte narrativo como mecanismo que explica el impacto de los mensajes narrativos en las actitudes y creencias de las audiencias es consistente y abundante (Bilandzic & Busselle, 2008;Cohen et al, 2015).…”