News Release

Shaky details? Come up with a good story and people might not notice

Peer-Reviewed Publication

University of Chicago Press Journals

A new paper from the March issue of the Journal of Consumer Research distinguishes between the two ways we think of ourselves – or, self-reference -- when we view ads. Jennifer Edson Escalas (Vanderbilt University) finds that narrative self-reference almost always leads to favorable evaluations of the ad, even if the ad’s logic is shaky. In contrast, analytical self-reference can lead to negative responses if the ad’s message is not well-reasoned.

Narrative self-reference has been linked in other studies to autobiographical memory processing. We create behavioral scenarios, similar to stories, in which we are the main character, Escalas explains. Not only are we "transported" by the process of narrative self-referencing, but we get so wrapped up in the story that we overlook weak arguments.

Though traditional psychological manipulations have had a hard time "turning off" transportation, Escalas proposes a mechanism to move people from narrative to analytical self-reference. She points out that we can also engage in self-reference by trying to make connections between the product and ourselves, a process known as cognitive elaboration.

"Transportation is not a lack of thought," Escalas writes. "It is a distinct process from analytical thought. Therefore to moderate transportation, we need to change the thought process involved, and move people from being caught up in a story to critically evaluating the ad."

Escalas finds that introducing skepticism about the advertiser’s intentions can offset a good narrative and cause greater scrutiny of an ad’s argument.

"The studies in this paper reveal that the structure of self-referencing (narrative vs. analytical) is important to persuasion," writes Escalas. "When consumers are skeptical of advertising, they are less likely to become transported by narrative thought processes. Instead of becoming lost in a self-focused story, skeptical consumers engage in analytical self-referencing and critique the ad based on the strength of its arguments."

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Escalas, Jennifer Edson. "Self-Referencing and Persuasion: Narrative Transportation versus Analytical Elaboration," Journal of Consumer Research: March 2007.


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