More than facts: How stories shape safety intentions

Despite the widespread use of stories in safety contexts, there has been limited research on the impact of stories in safety training. As such, this study explored the role of stories in the communication of safety information. Across two experimental studies, we explored whether narrative structure influenced safety-related intentions and knowledge acquisition. To do this, participants (Study 1: N = 200; Study 2: N = 150) were recruited via Prolific and randomly assigned to one of three video conditions and then asked to complete a survey and knowledge test afterward. In both studies, narrative transportation emerged as a key mechanism through which stories influenced safety intentions; however, there was no effect of story condition on knowledge test scores. While more research is needed to further elicit the components of effective safety narratives, these findings provide initial evidence that stories may be particularly helpful in influencing safety intentions, although their impact on actual knowledge transfer needs to be further explored. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).