Effects of Character Accent on Perceived Similarity, Transportation, and Narrative Persuasion

ABSTRACTABSTRACTGuided by narrative transportation theory and the social identity approach, this study examined the effects of character accent on perceived similarity, transportation, and narrative persuasion. Cigarette smokers from Kentucky (N = 492) listened to a first-person narrative about smoking-induced lung cancer. The character spoke either with a Southern American English (SAE; ingroup) or a General American English (GAE; outgroup) accent. Opposite to predictions, the GAE-accented character was perceived as more similar overall, engendered greater transportation, elevated lung cancer risk perceptions, and promoted higher intentions to quit smoking than the SAE-accented character. Consistent with predictions, the effects of character accent on risk perceptions and intentions to quit were mediated by perceived similarity and transportation. Taken together, these findings indicate that narrative character accent is a potent cue to similarity judgments, but that actual linguistic similarity is not isomorphic with perceived overall similarity. Theoretical and practical implications for narrative persuasion are discussed. Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).Supplementary materialSupplemental data for this article can be accessed online at https://doi.org/10.1080/10410236.2023.2185926Additional informationFundingThis work was supported by a Speed Dating for Researchers-X Collaborative Funding grant from the College of Communication and Information at the University of Kentucky.