A Narrative Persuasion Approach to Promoting COVID-19- Related Policy Support

Communication scholars warn against focusing on individual behaviors when discussing health issues, arguing that doing so can reduce affect and policy support. Although COVID-19 outcomes are linked to structural barriers to treatment, policy interventions appear to improve outcomes for vulnerable groups. Thus, strategic messages must promote public understanding of social determinants and policy support related to COVID-19. Using concepts from attribution theory and narrative persuasion, we employed an experiment (N = 435) testing the effects of personal responsibility (high, moderate, and low) on affective engagement and COVID-19 policy support. Namely, the manuscript examines (a) affective responses to characters displaying varying levels of personal responsibility for COVID-19 prevention, (b) the impact of these affective responses on policy support, and (c) the moderating role of audience political ideology on these effects. Analyses revealed that a highly responsible protagonist elicited empathy and perceived similarity, increasing policy support. While participants' political ideology moderated protagonist responsibility on perceived similarity, a more responsible protagonist evoked empathy independently of political leaning. Theoretical and practical implications are offered.