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Effects of Film Music on Psychological Transportationand Narrative PersuasionKristi A. Costabile a & Amanda W. Terman ba Iowa State Universityb University of California , Santa BarbaraPublished online: 24 May 2013.

To cite this article: Kristi A. Costabile & Amanda W. Terman (2013) Effects of Film Music on Psychological Transportation andNarrative Persuasion, Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 35:3, 316-324, DOI: 10.1080/01973533.2013.785398

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Effects of Film Music on Psychological Transportationand Narrative Persuasion

Kristi A. Costabile

Iowa State University

Amanda W. Terman

University of California, Santa Barbara

Two experiments examined the effect of film music on the narrative persuasion. InExperiment 1, participants viewed a short film with its original musical soundtrack orwith soundtrack muted. In Experiment 2, musical soundtrack was added to a film thatwas originally produced without music. Findings indicated that participants reportedgreater transportation into the film and greater agreement with film-relevant beliefswhen soundtrack was presented but only when music was congruent with the film’saffective tone. In support of the transportation-imagery model (Green & Brock,2000), the effect of film music on beliefs was mediated by transportation into the film.

In its earliest days, silent films employed music merely asa means to disguise the discordant and potentially dis-tracting sounds emitted from the noisy film projectorsand audience members (Beeman, 1988). Since then,entire industries (and academic disciplines) havedeveloped to explore the use of music in films. Combin-ing research in social psychology and music cognition,the present experiments examined whether film musicincreases a viewer’s susceptibility to narrative per-suasion and whether these effects may be due to theviewer’s level of psychological transportation into theworld created by the film.

POWER OF NARRATIVES

Information presented in a narrative is better remem-bered (Wyer, Adaval, & Colcombe, 2002) and moreinfluential on subsequent judgments than the sameinformation presented in a nonnarrative format (e.g.,Adaval & Wyer, 1998). As such, narratives have beenfound to change the audience’s perceptions of depictedevents. For example, research participants were willing

to agree with erroneous statements such as, ‘‘Eatingchocolate makes you lose weight’’ when the informationwas presented as conversation statements in a narrative(Prentice, Gerrig, & Bailis, 1997; Wheeler, Green, &Brock, 1999). In addition, Shrum, Wyer, and O’Guinn(1998) reported that heavy television viewers were morelikely to make estimates of crime prevalence consistentwith the content of television programming than werelight television viewers. Similarly, Slater (2002) reportedthat after exposure to the telenovela SimplementeMaria, in which the heroine purchased a sewingmachine and sewed her way into a successful businessempire, local stores reported a boost in sewing machinesales. Comparable effects occurred as a result ofexposure to fictional narratives advocating adultliteracy, family planning, and avoiding alcohol abuse(see Slater, 2002).

Transportation-Imagery Model of NarrativePersuasion

Green and Brock’s (2000, 2005) transportation-imagerymodel posits that narrative persuasion occurs to theextent the audience member is psychologically ‘‘trans-ported’’ into the described world. The researchers char-acterize psychological transportation as a convergent

Correspondence should be sent to Kristi A. Costabile, Iowa State

University, W112 Lagomarcino Hall, Ames, IA 50011. E-mail: costabil@

iastate.edu

BASIC AND APPLIED SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY, 35:316–324, 2013

Copyright # Taylor & Francis Group, LLC

ISSN: 0197-3533 print=1532-4834 online

DOI: 10.1080/01973533.2013.785398

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mental process in which the real world is temporarily leftbehind in favor of the world created by the narrative (seealso Nell, 2002). Across a series of experiments, Greenand Brock (2000) measured psychological transpor-tation using a self-report questionnaire that assessedcognitive engagement, emotional responses, and mentalimagery experienced as a result of reading a narrativetext. In addition to heightened cognitive attention,emotional reactions, and mental imagery, transportedreaders reported decreased access to real-world infor-mation and more favorable evaluations of sympatheticnarrative protagonists than did nontransported readers(Green & Brock, 2000, 2005). Moreover, transportedindividuals were less likely to exhibit scrutiny of persuas-ive messages, which in turn led to beliefs in accordancewith those advocated in the narrative (Green & Brock,2000). The effects of transportation on story-relevantbeliefs were maintained whether the narrative wasdescribed as fictional or factual and were replicatedacross a variety of narrative texts. The present experi-ments extended this work to examine how film musicinfluenced viewers’ psychological transportation andthus susceptibility to narrative persuasion.

EFFECTS OF FILM SOUNDTRACK ONCOGNITION

As an ordered sequence that unfolds over time, somescholars have argued that music could be conceptualizedas a narrative itself (e.g., A. J. Cohen, 2002; Levinson,2004; Maus, 1991; Tarasti, 2004). Although the narra-tivity of music is debatable (e.g., Wolf, 1999), an abun-dance of empirical evidence suggests that film musicplays a critical role in developing a viewer’s workingnarrative of the film (e.g., Boltz, 2004; Marshall &Cohen, 1988).

For example, Lipscomb and Kendall (1994) sug-gested that a film’s musical soundtrack can providemore information about the narrative than the visualscene itself. The researchers found that ratings of ascene on various dimensions (e.g., beauty, interest, ortension) varied widely when the visual scene was heldconstant and the soundtrack was changed—an effectthat was not duplicated when the soundtrack washeld constant and the visual scene varied. Similarly,Bullerjahn and Guldenring (1994) found thatparticipants who viewed an identical scene interpretedit as either sentimental or thrilling depending on themusical soundtrack used. Because musical soundtrackplays an integral role in developing the meaning of afilm narrative, the present experiments explored whetherfilm music might also serve to enhance viewers’ trans-portation into the film and thus increase agreement withfilm-relevant beliefs.

OVERVIEW OF PRESENT EXPERIMENTS

The present experiments explored the role of film musicon narrative persuasion. In the first experiment, parti-cipants viewed a film with its accompanying musicalsoundtrack or without the soundtrack. In the secondexperiment, affect-inducing musical soundtrack wasadded to a different stimulus film. Because film musichas been found to enhance the emotionality of the filmand increase cognitive engagement with the film events(Gabrielsson & Lindstrom, 2001), we hypothesized thatfilm soundtrack would enhance psychological transpor-tation and thus increase narrative persuasion. More-over, we hypothesized that transportation wouldincrease only when the soundtrack was affectivelycongruent with the film’s emotional tone (Boltz, 2004).

EXPERIMENT 1

In this initial experiment, we explored whether the pres-ence of music soundtrack enhanced viewers’ transpor-tation into a film narrative. We hypothesized thatthose who watched the film with soundtrack wouldreport greater transportation into the film and, in turn,report more favorable evaluations of the film protagon-ist and greater agreement with film-relevant beliefs.

In addition to measuring affinity toward the filmprotagonist, we included a measure of identificationwith the narrative protagonist. Barker (2005) notedthat favorability toward and identification with a nar-rative protagonist are distinct experiences. J. Cohen(2001) argued that favorability judgments require theviewer to be psychologically outside the text, actingas a spectator to evaluate the character. However,identification requires the viewer to place oneself insidethe narrative and adopt the perspectives, emotions, andgoals of the character. As such, the identification mea-sure used in our experiments included items such asperspective taking, empathy, and shared emotionalresponses (J. Cohen, 2001). J. Cohen (2001) argued thatidentification should increase to the extent that one isabsorbed in the narrative. Accordingly, we examinedwhether level of transportation predicted protagonistidentification.

Method

Participants, Design, and Procedure

Sixty-one introductory psychology studentsparticipated in this experiment in exchange for partialcourse credit. The sample consisted of 30 male parti-cipants, 30 female participants, and one participantwho did not indicate gender. Mean age of the sample

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was 19.20 years old. Participants identified ethnicbackgrounds as European American (75%), Asian(7%), African American (7%), Latino (7%), NativeAmerican (2%), and Other (2%). Four participantsomitted one or more items from measures and wereremoved from analyses. Participants were randomlyassigned into two groups: (a) view film with accompany-ing soundtrack (filmþ original music), or (b) view filmwithout its soundtrack (film only). Experimental ses-sions consisted of five to ten participants seated at indi-vidual desks facing a large screen. Participants viewedthe film and then completed a series of dependent mea-sures assessing film-relevant beliefs, psychological trans-portation, and ratings of the film protagonist (measureswere completed in that order).

Materials and Measures

Film. The film used in this experiment was a 7½-minfilm entitled Always (Langenbach, 2001). The filmdepicted several flashbacks to illustrate the developmentof a couple’s loving relationship and ended with the wifedeciding to remove her terminally ill husband fromlife-supporting devices. There were no sound effects ordialogue used in the film.

Soundtrack. The music used in the filmþ originalmusic condition was the original score chosen by thedirector. The musical tracks (Zimmer & Gerrard,2000) provided a dramatic tone, complementing the ser-ious nature of the subject matter depicted in the film.The soundtrack shifted between what Hevner (1937)might categorize as ‘‘dignified=solemn’’ or ‘‘sad=heavy’’and ‘‘dreamy=sentimental’’ or ‘‘serene=gentle.’’ Themusic consisted of several units that co-occurred withspecific actions in the film.1

Transportation scale. Green and Brock’s (2000)psychological transportation scale was adapted for usewith the stimulus film. The version used in thisexperiment contained seven statements that measuredparticipants’ cognitive engagement (e.g., I was mentallyinvolved in the narrative while watching the film) andemotional reactions (e.g., I reacted to events in the filmas if I were one of the characters) to the film. We didnot include items in the original scale that assessed men-tal imagery because we used a visually based stimulus.

Participants responded to the statements on a scaleranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 7 (strongly agree)(a¼ .79).

Protagonist measures. The protagonist question-naire consisted of eight items that assessed participants’ratings of the wife portrayed in the film. Three questionsassessed perceptions of protagonist favorability (i.e.,liking, likeability, and favorability of protagonist;a¼ .89). Five items assessed the extent to which theviewer identified with the protagonist (i.e., understandthe protagonist’s point of view, sympathize with hersituation, feel her love for her husband, care abouther, and identify with her; a¼ .75). Participantsresponded to the questions using a 7-point Likert-typescale ranging from 1 (not at all) to 7 (very much). Favor-ability and identification scores were positively corre-lated with one another (r¼ .69, p< .001).

Film-relevant beliefs. The film-relevant beliefs ques-tionnaire included eight statements assessing participantagreement with film-advocated behaviors using a7-point Likert-type scale ranging from 1 (completelydisagree) to 7 (completely agree) and one item using afree-response percentage estimate; see Appendix A forscale items. Six scale items (Items 1–5, 9) were generalstatements regarding the moral and legal issues ofremoving terminally ill patients from life support. Threestatements (Items 6–8) assessed specific beliefs regardingthe wife’s decision to remove her husband from life sup-port. Due to disparate mean values, all items were stan-dardized and averaged to form an index of film-relevantbeliefs (a¼ .74).

Results and Discussion

Analyses of variance (ANOVAs) were conducted toassess the effects of film music on psychological trans-portation, protagonist measures, and story-relevantbeliefs. Each variable is discussed below; see Table 1for means and standard deviations.

Psychological Transportation

The affective and cognitive components of the trans-portation scale were highly correlated (r¼ .72) and werenot differentially affected by the manipulation, asevidenced by a repeated-measures ANOVA thatrevealed no interaction between condition and type ofcomponent measured, F(1, 55)¼ .38, p¼ .54, �gg2< .01.Following Green and Brock (2000), we collapsed acrosscomponents and report results using single measure oftransportation. As hypothesized, a one-way ANOVArevealed that participants who viewed the film with its

1The specific musical structures that cue emotional expression and

increase attention in the present stimuli were too numerous and com-

plicated to fully explore here. However, the basic findings regarding

musical factors such as pitch, mode, tempo, dynamics, rhythm, and

timbre would support the prediction that the music used in the present

experiment adds meaning to the film’s visual elements.

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soundtrack reported greater transportation into the film(M¼ 4.82) than participants in the film-only condition(M¼ 4.21), F(1, 55)¼ 4.91, p¼ .03, �gg2¼ .08.

Protagonist Measures

A one-way ANOVA revealed that participants whoviewed the film with its original soundtrack expressedmore favorable evaluations of the protagonist(M¼ 5.64) than participants in the film-only condition(M¼ 4.97), F(1, 55)¼ 4.67, p¼ .04, �gg2¼ .08. In addition,a one-way ANOVA indicated that viewers who watchedthe film with soundtrack reported greater identificationwith the protagonist (M¼ 5.45) than did participantsin the film-only condition (M¼ 4.71), F(1, 55)¼ 9.38,p< .01, �gg2¼ .15.

Film-Relevant Beliefs

A one-way ANOVA indicated that participants inthe filmþ original music condition were more likely toendorse film-relevant beliefs (M¼ .22) than those inthe film-only condition (M¼�.22), F(1, 55)¼ 9.79,p< .01, �gg2¼ .15. The effect of music on beliefs remainedsignificant even when story-specific items were omittedfrom the belief measure, F(1, 55)¼ 3.97, p¼ .05,�gg2¼ .07.

Path Analyses

To test whether transportation mediated the relation-ships between film music and (a) beliefs, (b) protagonistfavorability, and (c) protagonist identification, we fol-lowed the procedures recommended by Preacher andHayes (2004).

As predicted, film music led to greater transportation(b¼ .30, SE¼ .13), t(55)¼ 2.22, p¼ .03. In turn, trans-portation predicted film-relevant beliefs (b¼ .18,SE¼ .07), t(55)¼ 2.68, p< .01. Preacher and Hayes(2004) recommend asymmetric bootstrapping to testthe indirect pathway from film music to transportationto film beliefs. For this analysis and all subsequentindirect pathway analyses, we used Hayes (2012)

PROCESS macro to examine the relationship amongvariables using 10,000 bootstrapping iterations to derivethe 95% bias-corrected confidence interval (CI). Analy-ses indicated the bootstrapped estimate of the indirecteffect (M¼ .05, SE¼ .03) was positive and statisticallydifferent from zero, 95% CI [.01, .14]. Because zerowas not included in the CI, these results indicated thattransportation mediated the relationship between filmmusic and film-relevant beliefs.

To examine whether transportation mediated therelationship between film music and protagonist favor-ability, we examined the indirect effect of transportationfrom film music to protagonist favorability ratings. Asexpected, regression analyses indicated that transpor-tation significantly predicted favorability ratings,b¼ .56, SE¼ .14, t(59)¼ 3.96, p< .001. ReplicatingGreen and Brock (2000), bootstrapping analyses showedthat the indirect effect of transportation (b¼ .18,SE¼ .12) was reliable, 95% CI [.02, .50], indicating thattransportation mediated the relationship between filmmusic and protagonist favorability. To examine whethertransportation mediated the relationship between filmmusic and protagonist identification, we examined theindirect effect of transportation from film music on pro-tagonist identification. Transportation significantly pre-dicted identification, b¼ .57, SE¼ .10, t(59)¼ 3.5.97,p< .001. Bootstrapping analyses again revealed areliable indirect effect of transportation, b¼ .18,SE¼ .10, 95% CI [.02, .42], indicating that transpor-tation mediated the relationship between conditionand identification.

In accordance with the transportation-imagery model(Green & Brock, 2000, 2005), viewers who watched thefilm with its soundtrack reported greater transportationinto the narrative world and, accordingly, showedgreater susceptibility to narrative persuasion. Inaddition, results of this initial experiment indicated thatfilm music led to more favorable evaluations of the filmprotagonist as well as greater identification with her.Moreover, both favorability judgments and identifi-cation with the film protagonist were positively associa-ted with psychological transportation into the film,suggesting that film music enhances immersion into

TABLE 1

Mean Ratings of Transportation, Attitudes, and Protagonist Evaluation by Condition (Experiment 1)

Measure

Condition Transportation Beliefs Protagonist Favorability Protagonist Identification

Filmþmusic 4.82 (.99)a .22 (.49)a 5.64 (1.00)a 5.45 (.67)a

Film only 4.21 (1.07)b –.22 (.56)b 4.97 (1.33)b 4.71 (1.09)b

Note. Transportation, Favorability, and Identification scales range from 1 to 7. Belief scores were calculated by averaging scores on

standardized items. Standard deviations are presented in parentheses. Superscripts indicate differences between conditions in each

column, p< .05.

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the film, which in turn can prompt both liking of andidentification with fictional characters.

EXPERIMENT 2

Experiment 2 sought to explore the effects of film sound-track on narrative persuasion under more rigorous con-ditions. The presence of music in Experiment 1 mighthave functioned merely to draw viewers’ attention awayfrom film-external distractions. In addition, becausethere was no dialogue or sound effects present in thestimulus film, the music-absent conditions might havebeen atypical for research participants, thereby leadingto disengagement from the film. Experiment 2 addressedthese limitations by exploring the role of affectivecongruence of film music on the entertainment experi-ence under ecologically relevant conditions.

A. J. Cohen (2001) argued that the emotional reson-ance triggered by film music is critical for a viewer toproperly interpret the film’s meaning. When the affectivetone of film music is in conflict with the visual action,each sensory cue is processed independently therebyleading to misguided interpretation of events (Boltz,2004). In Experiment 2, the affective congruencebetween the film music and the film content wasmanipulated. Participants watched a short film pairedwith music intended to evoke positive affect (dissonantemotional state from the film content), paired withmusic intended to evoke negative affect (consonantemotional state with the film content), or without musi-cal soundtrack. It was hypothesized that psychologicaltransportation and agreement with story-relevant beliefswould be greatest for those viewers who viewed the filmpaired with the affectively-congruent soundtrack.

The stimuli in Experiment 2 included a professionalshort film that included dialogue and sound effects, yetthe film did not have a musical soundtrack (Hancock,Hebden, & Haig, 2009). Music was added using briefsnippets of classical music looped continuously through-out the duration of the film without attempt to synchro-nize music and visual events. Due to this lack of artisticdirection, the constructed stimuli provided a strong testfor our hypotheses.

In addition, the film used in Experiment 2 had mark-edly different content than the film used in Experiment1. The film Saltmark (Hancock et al., 2009) depicts anafternoon shared by an adolescent girl and hergrandfather. Unlike the film used in Experiment 1, thechief protagonist is not depicted as likeable or sympath-etic. Accordingly, it was expected that although musicshould enhance transportation in the film andfilm-relevant beliefs, it was not expected to have anyeffect on favorability or identification toward the filmprotagonist (Green & Brock, 2000).

Method

Participants, Design, and Procedure

One hundred thirteen introductory psychology stu-dents (54 male, 58 female) participated in this experi-ment in exchange for partial course credit. The meanage of participants was 19.44 years old. Participantsidentified ethnic backgrounds as European American(72%), Asian (18%), African American (4%), Latino(1%), Native American (1%), Multi-Ethnic (3%), andOther (1%). Three participants omitted one or moreitems on the dependent measures and were removedfrom analyses.

Participants viewed a short film and then answeredquestions assessing beliefs toward issues depicted inthe film, transportation into the narrative, and ratingsof the narrative protagonist. Participants were randomlyassigned into one of three conditions: (a) viewed film inits original format without musical soundtrack (filmonly), (b) viewed film with negative affect inducingmusic (filmþ congruent music), and (c) viewed film withpositive affect inducing music (filmþ incongruentmusic).

Materials and Measures

Film. Saltmark (Hancock et al., 2009) is an 11-minfilm that depicts an afternoon shared by an adolescentgirl and her ailing grandfather. Throughout the film,granddaughter Rowan is demonstrably bored, showingdisdain and impatience for her grandfather’s elderlyand infirm condition. At the conclusion of the film,the girl is asked to help her grandfather drain his cath-eter in a public park. She acquiesces with his requestbut ultimately feels humiliation when she is observedby her teasing peers. The film contains dialogue andambient sound effects. No musical soundtrack ispresented in the original film.

Music manipulations. To add music to the originalfilm and still allow the original dialogue and soundeffects to be audible, external music was added at alow volume using Windows Live Movie Maker. Themusic volume was varied, such that it was reduced dur-ing dialogue scenes and increased slightly during quietmoments. In both soundtrack manipulations, themusical soundtrack was created by looping brief audioclips of the music selections (about 30 s long) as the filmplayed. The soundtrack was not synchronized to corre-spond with any physical movements or specific themesin the visual scene.

Due to the serious and somber nature of the film,negative-affect inducing music was used for the affect-congruent condition and positive-affect inducing music

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was used for the affect-incongruent condition.Participants in the filmþ congruent music conditionheard segments fromAdagio for Strings by Samuel Barberpaired with the film because the music was found toinduce negative affect in listeners (Niedenthal & Setter-lund, 1994). Participants in the filmþ incongruent musiccondition viewed the film with segments from the allegrofrom Divertimento No. 136 by Mozart, as the allegro hasbeen found to induce positive affect in listeners (Nie-denthal & Setterlund, 1994). The music selected for theaffective conditions followed the guidelines suggested byBoltz (2004) with regard to tempo, mode, and pitch var-iety. A pilot study (N¼ 29) indicated that participantsreported more positive affect after listening to the positiveaffect-inducing music (M¼ 7.47 on a scale from 1 to 9where higher scores indicate greater positivity) than thosewho listened to the negative affect music (M¼ 5.89),F(1, 27)¼ 9.51, p< .01, �gg2¼ .26.

Dependent measures. The transportation scaleused in Experiment 1 was included (a¼ .79), and theprotagonist measures were adapted for use with the cur-rent film. As in Experiment 1, items assessed perceptionsof protagonist favorability (a¼ .83) and identification(a¼ .83). Favorability and identification were positivelycorrelated with one another (r¼ .79, p< .01).

The film-relevant beliefs questionnaire includednine statements assessing participant agreement withfilm-relevant beliefs using a 7-point Likert-type scaleranging from 1 (completely disagree) to 7 (completelyagree). See Appendix B for scale items. Questionsassessed general beliefs about the expectation of sacrificefor others. All items were averaged into a single index offilm-relevant beliefs (a¼ .72).

Results and Discussion

Psychological Transportation

As in Experiment 1, the cognitive and affectivecomponents were highly correlated (r¼ .60, p< .001),and results of the music manipulation were parallel asevidenced by the lack of an interaction betweencondition and type of component measured, F(2, 107)¼.09, p¼ .92, �gg2< .01. Thus, we collapsed the componentsto form a single measure of transportation. A one-wayANOVA revealed a significant effect of music sound-track on psychological transportation, F(2, 107)¼ 4.06,p¼ .02, �gg2¼ .07; see Table 2. As predicted, post hoc com-parisons using Fisher’s least significance difference(LSD) tests revealed that viewers who watched the filmwith congruent music reported significantly greatertransportation into the film (M¼ 5.49) than did viewerswho watched with film without music (M¼ 4.97, p¼.03) and those who viewed the film with incongruent

music (M¼ 4.87, p¼ .01). Simple comparisons indicatedthat the difference between those in the film only andfilmþ incongruent music conditions was not reliable(p¼ .70).

Protagonist Measures

In contrast to findings of Experiment 1, one-wayANOVAs did not reveal an effect of music soundtrackon protagonist favorability, F(2, 107)¼ 2.32, p¼ .10,�gg2¼ .04, nor on protagonist identification, F(2,107)¼ 1.97, p¼ .15, �gg2¼ .04.

Film-Relevant Beliefs

A one-way ANOVA revealed a significant effectof music on film-relevant beliefs, F (2, 107)¼ 6.90,p< .01, �gg2¼ .11. As predicted, Fisher’s least significancedifference test indicated that those who viewed the filmpaired with congruent music were more likely to agreewith beliefs advocated in the film (M¼ 6.06) than werethose who viewed the film without music (M¼ 5.73,p< .03) and those who viewed the film with incongruentmusic (M¼ 5.50, p< .01). The difference between thelatter conditions was not reliable (p¼ .13).

Path analyses. To allow regression analyses,condition was coded 1¼Filmþ Incongruent Music,2¼Film Only, and 3¼FilmþCongruent Music.2 Aspredicted, congruent film music increased transpor-tation into the film, b¼ .31, SE¼ .12, t(109)¼ 2.67,p< .01. In turn, transportation predicted film-relevantbeliefs, b¼ .19, SE¼ .06, t(109)¼ 3.12, p< .01. Thebootstrapped estimate of the indirect effect (M¼ .06,SE¼ .03) was positive and statistically different fromzero, 95% CI [.02, .19], indicating that transportationmediated the relationship between film music andfilm-relevant beliefs.

Unlike in Experiment 1, the relationship betweentransportation and protagonist favorability judgmentswas not reliable, b¼ .17, SE¼ .13, t(109)¼ 1.30, p¼ .20.

2Because the results of the ANOVAs revealed no reliable differ-

ences between viewers in the filmþ incongruent music and film only

conditions on ratings of transportation or beliefs, analyses were

also conducted with those conditions collapsed such

that 1¼Filmþ Incongruent Music, 1¼Film Only, and 2¼FilmþCongruent Music. As predicted, congruent film music predicted trans-

portation, b¼ .28, SE¼ .10, t(109)¼ 2.83, p< .01; transportation pre-

dicted film-relevant beliefs, b¼ .19, SE¼ .06, t(109)¼ 3.11, p< .01;

and the bootstrapped estimate of the indirect effect (M¼ .05,

SE¼ .02) was positive and statistically different from zero, 95% CI

[.02, .11]. In addition, transportation predicted protagonist identifi-

cation, b¼ .30, SE¼ .11, t(109)¼ 2.73, p¼ .001, and bootstrapping

analyses revealed a reliable indirect effect, b¼ .10, SE¼ .05, with a

95% CI [.02, .23], indicating that transportation mediated the relation-

ship between condition and identification.

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Yet, consistent with Experiment 1, regression analysesindicated that transportation significantly predictedprotagonist identification, b¼ .30, SE¼ .11, t(109)¼2.73, p¼ .001. Bootstrapping analyses revealed a reliableindirect effect, b¼ .09, SE¼ .06, with a 95% CI [.01, .25],indicating that transportation mediated the relationshipbetween condition and protagonist identification.

Taken together, results suggest that when film musicwas affectively congruent with the tone of a film, thepresence of music increased psychological transpor-tation into the film. In turn, transportation increasedagreement with film-relevant beliefs, supporting thetransportation-imagery model of narrative persuasion(Green & Brock, 2000, 2005). The effects of film musicon transportation and film-relevant beliefs wereespecially remarkable given the unprofessional and inar-tistic application of film music to an already polishedand engaging film.

Experiment 2 also revealed that transportation waspositively associated with identification with the filmprotagonist; however, unlike in the first experiment,transportation did not predict protagonist favorabilityjudgments. In addition, results indicated that incongru-ent music led to less favorable ratings of the film protag-onist than did the control condition in which musicwas not presented. One possible explanation for thisunanticipated effect is that the lighthearted soundtrackpaired with the serious film content led viewers to inter-pret the protagonist’s behaviors as particularly morenegative (Boltz, 2004). Future work is necessary to bet-ter understand the processes underlying the differentialeffects of film music on the experience of transportation,protagonist identification, and favorability judgments ofnarrative protagonists.

GENERAL DISCUSSION

The present article explores the effect of film soundtrackon narrative persuasion. Using ecologically relevant stim-uli, we examined the phenomenon of narrativepersuasion and the process by which it occurs for filmviewers. Results of two experiments indicated that

participants reported greater transportation into the filmand greater agreement with film-relevant beliefs whenmusical soundtrack was presented, but only when musicwas congruent with the film’s affective tone. Mediationalanalyses suggested that congruent music increased view-ers’ transportation into film, which in turn increasedfilm-relevant beliefs, establishing transportation as anexplanation for how filmmusic influences viewers’ beliefs.These findings lay the foundation for future empiricalinvestigations to further explore the intersection betweenmusic cognition and narrative persuasion in films.

Of interest, the present experiments found similareffects of film music on both the cognitive and affectivecomponents of the psychological transportation scale.These findings reinforce Green and Brock’s (2000) con-ception of psychological transportation as an integrativemelding of attention and emotion, ‘‘where all mentalsystems and capacities become focused on events occur-ring in the narrative’’ (p. 701). Music selected for itsaffective congruity with the film content in Experiment2 had similar effects on viewers’ emotional responsesas well as their cognitive engagement with the film. Thisfinding suggests that the affective and cognitive compo-nents of transportation are interrelated and perhapsdynamic processes, such that stimuli that encouragethe activation of one might trigger the other, furtherenhancing the experience of transportation.

The present research also explored the relationshipbetween transportation into a narrative and perceptionsof the narrative protagonist. In an extension of thetransportation-imagery model, results of both experi-ments indicated that transportation was positively asso-ciated with perceptions of identification with thenarrative protagonist, suggesting that narrative immer-sion can facilitate a viewer’s ability to psychologicallylocate oneself inside the narrative and take on theexperiences and perspectives of the depicted characters(J. Cohen, 2001).

Although film music consistently enhancedtransportation and agreement film-relevant beliefs, filmmusic did not have consistent effects on protagonistmeasures across experiments. This difference mayhave been due in part to experimental stimuli. The films

TABLE 2

Mean Ratings of Transportation, Attitudes, and Protagonist Evaluation by Condition (Experiment 2)

Measure

Condition Transportation Beliefs Protagonist Favorability Protagonist Identification

Congruent music 5.49 (.94)a 6.06 (.50)a 4.34 (1.33)a,b 4.76 (1.30)a

Film only 4.97 (.90)b 5.73 (.75)b 4.74 (1.31)a 5.17 (1.10)a

Incongruent music 4.87 (1.11)b 5.50 (.63)b 4.07 (1.41)b 4.65 (1.12)a

Note. Standard deviations are presented in parentheses. Superscripts indicate differences between conditions in each column using Fisher’s least

significant difference test, p< .05.

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used in Experiments 1 and 2 differed on a number ofdimensions, one of which was the favorability of thenarrative protagonist. The protagonist in Experiment2 was rated as less favorable than the protagonist inExperiment 1, t(172)¼ 3.39, p< .001. The relationshipbetween transportation and favorability was attenuatedin Experiment 2, supporting Green and Brock’s (2000)argument that transportation should increase likingonly for sympathetic characters. In addition, the incon-sistencies between studies on protagonist measures maybe due to the crude stimuli construction in Experiment2 in which music was simply added via looped audioclips that did not relate to the film’s narrative. Filmmusic that provides attentional or thematic cues wouldlikely have a greater influence on the viewer’sexperiences. Future work is needed to better parseapart the complex relationships among these relatedbut distinct concepts.

It must be noted that the present studies were restric-ted with regard to valence of affect. In the presentexperiments, music that evoked negative affect wascongruent with the film’s tone and music that evokedpositive affect was incongruent with the film. Previousresearch on music valence suggests music valence cannotsufficiently account for the present findings (e.g.,Bruner, 1990); however, the present studies cannot ruleout the possibility that affectively negative music wouldincrease viewers’ experience of transportation regardlessof the tone of the film.

This initial investigation provides a springboard forresearch exploring the relationship between film musicand narrative persuasion. With only subtle manipula-tions, we found strong effects of film music on viewerbeliefs. Because narrative persuasion is more likely tooccur when the narrative depicts novel content (Slater,2002), our findings using relatively familiar topics sug-gest that the effect of music on narrative persuasion isquite robust.

Because people look to narratives as enjoyable enter-tainment experiences, they are less likely to criticallyanalyze the messages implied by the behaviors of thenarrative protagonists (Green & Brock, 2000). Thepresent experiments demonstrated that the effects ofnarrative persuasion were magnified when music isthrown into the equation. Because of the human desireto seek new narrative and music experiences (e.g.,Green, Brock, & Kaufman, 2004), it becomes imperativethat we gain more knowledge about how these experi-ences affect our judgments and decisions.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This project was inspired by the tremendous research onnarrative transportation by Timothy C. Brock. We

thank Derek Rhoades for his help in preparing stimulusmaterials and collecting data. Preparation of this workwas supported in part by an NIMH postdoctoral train-ing grant awarded to the first author and the Ohio StateUniversity College of Arts and Sciences UndergraduateResearch Scholarship awarded to the second author.

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APPENDIX A

STORY-SPECIFIC BELIEF SCALE ITEMS(EXPERIMENT 1)

Item

1. It should be legal for a family to decide to remove a loved one

from life-support.

2. Sometimes, it is more compassionate to allow a loved one to die,

than to keep him=her alive using artificial means.

3. Most people would rather die peacefully than be kept alive by

machines.

4. Most families with a loved one in a vegetative state eventually

choose to ‘‘pull the plug.’’

5. If I had to vote today, I would vote against a bill allowing people

to ‘‘pull the plug’’ on a loved one. (R)

6. The wife in the film made the right decision to unplug the medical

equipment.

7. The wife was being selfish when she removed her husband from

life-support. (R)

8. The wife was thinking of her husband’s best interests when she

decided to unplug the medical equipment.

9. What percentage of people support ending the life of a terminally

ill patient?

Note. All nine items were standardized and averaged into a single index

of film-relevant beliefs. R¼ reverse scored.

APPENDIX B

STORY-SPECIFIC BELIEF SCALE ITEMS(EXPERIMENT 2)

Item

1. It is important to sacrifice for loved ones.

2. You should never choose to do something humiliating if you don’t

want to. (R)

3. It is more important to stand up for family than to do the popular

thing.

4. Protecting your family is more important than preserving your

dignity.

5. You should never sacrifice your own dignity to make some else more

comfortable. (R)

6. Part of growing up entails realizing that the right decision is not easy.

7. It is unfair to expect grandchildren to help with embarrassing

situations. (R)

8. It is one’s duty to help relatives, no matter the cost to oneself.

9. No one should endure humiliation in order to help someone else. (R)

Note. R¼ reverse scored.

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