I was very happy to discover Dr Melanie Green’s  theory of ‘transportation into a narrative world’, as this is exactly what I had been looking for to explain why, when we watch a film, we can end up learning from it even though the intention had not been to learn but rather to be entertained. Her theory takes this much further, and she argues that transportation can lead to changes in beliefs, attitudes and behaviours. For the film that I intend to make, all three aspects of change are necessary. Consequently, I have spent quite a bit of time trying to understand how ‘transportation’ occurs.

Narrative transportation happens when a person becomes fully immersed in a narrative world, experiencing a state of heightened attention, emotional engagement, and mental imagery. This state of transportation happens because of the story’s ability to create sensory and emotional experiences that allow a person to imagine themselves to be in the story. Once the person is transported, they are more likely to adopt the beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors shown or contained by the story, or adopted by the characters they relate to in the story (Green and Brock 2000; Green and Brock, 2002).

Transportation can happen across a wider variety of media, meaning that a person can be ‘transported’ through, for example, reading a book, playing a virtual reality game or watching a film. The research does not indicate that there is one medium that is more likely to produce transportation above the others, but rather that it is the content of the narrative story that is the most important influencing factor. Consequently, when choosing a medium for edutainment, practicality and expert opinion on the best medium for the intended audience can be the driving factors. Nonetheless, Walter, Murphy, Frank, and Baezconde-Garbanati (2017) concluded that video/film of a narrative led to higher levels of mental and emotional involvement than books,  but if the subject of the film strongly challenged a person’s perspective could lead to them feeling threatened.

 How does narrative transportation lead to change?

Green goes on to explain how transportation may lead to these changes, and includes mechanisms such as reducing counterarguing, viewers establishing connections with characters, increases in perceived realism, mental imagery of story events, and emotional engagement (Green in Frank and Falzone, 2021). In reviewing these mechanisms, I have applied it to film, however Green has noted that narrative transportation occurs across many different media.

Reduced Counterarguing

Green explains that one of the barriers to attitude/behaviour change is the arguments a person has constructed to resist a new perspective. Stories can appear less threatening than a message delivered as a direct educational objective and can therefore create a space where the person is more open to accepting different views. In some cases, the viewer may not even have thought about whether a film is persuasive, so doesn’t spend much time analysing the message of the film or the educational objectives. She also acknowledges that transportation may indirectly reduce the viewer’s motivation to put forward any counterargument/s.

 Nonetheless, and depending on the type of story, it may be beneficial or an indication of engagement when the viewer starts to counterargue sometimes counterarguing can be a sign of engagement.

Connections with Characters

Viewers may identify with characters in the film and it is through this type of connection that the viewer may align their attitudes with that of the character. Furthermore, the viewer may relate to the experiences of the character/s and this may influence how the viewer subsequently thinks or behaviours. Although changes in attitudes and beliefs is important in my film, ultimately, I am seeking to create some role models for ATC instructors as it is the actions and behaviours of these instructors that will determine if the learning objectives of the film are met.

One of the ways a story might trigger viewers to reconsider their actions is to ‘remind’ them in the film of experiences that they might have had in the past – to the story content to the individual. Since my film will have many instances that instructors can related to, based on their past experiences, I am hoping for high effectively in this area.

Mental imagery

Watching a film that transports the person into the story world can result in them retaining clear mental images that are linked to beliefs. For example, in my film, associating certain types of instructing behaviours with images of the negative or positive effects on others, can be a powerful basis for encouraging instructors to act in a certain manner. Another possible use mental imagery creation may be linked to watch ‘professional instructing behaviours’ look like in an operational environment.

Emotional engagement

Narrative stories make us cry, or laugh or feel pain. At the heart of storytelling is its ability to make someone feel an emotion. Current research suggests that when a story takes a person through a series of changing emotional experiences, it helps the person maintain their attention and remain in the story world longer. is exploring not only the actual emotions (Nabi and Green, 2015).

Bibliography

Green, M. C., & Brock, T. C. (2000). The role of transportation in the persuasiveness of public narratives. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 79, 701–721.

Green, M. C., & Brock, T. C. (2002). In the mind’s eye: Imagery and transportation into narrative worlds. In M. C. Green, J. J. Strange, & T. C. Brock (Eds.), Narrative impact: Social and cognitive foundations (pp. 315–341). Mahwah: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Nabi, R. L., & Green, M. C. (2015). The role of a narrative’s emotional flow in promoting persuasive outcomes. Media Psychology, 18(2), 137–162.

Walter, N., Murphy, S. T., Frank, L. B., & Baezconde-Garbanati, L. (2017). Each medium tells a different story: the effect of message channel on narrative persuasion. Communication Research Reports, 34(2), 161–170.