Thesis (M.Sc.) - Cairo University - Faculty of Mass Communication - Department of Radio and Television

Though narrative messages have been used to persuade audiences for centuries, scholars have only recently begun to investigate the mechanisms behind the narrative persuasion process from a media effects perspective.Depending on Narrative transportation theory proposed by (Green & Brock, 2000), in which transportation into narratives has been shown to be a mechanism of narrative persuasion, which can lead to attitude, belief, or behavior change; the present study sought to examine how documentaries could form awareness and attitudes towards societal issues in Egypt, by investigating the impact of narratives on knowledge, attitudes and behavior intentions towards the featured societal issue2Domestic Violence3.100 participants were recruited from the English section in Faculty of Mass Communication at Cairo University, in a Posttest only quasi-experimental study; in which participants were exposed to two different documentary formats (traditional/interactive).Results provided some valuable insights on the role of narrative engagement variables (transportation, character identification and empathetic attitudes); and the potential role of interactivity, in increasing viewer/user knowledge concerning the featured issue through narratives used in the study documentariesd

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