Characteristics of narrative Marissa Truskowski

the Narrative paradigm Walter Fisher argues the following: People are essentially storytellers People make decisions on the basis of good reasons History, biography, culture, and character determine what they think are good reasons Narrative rationality is determined by the coherence and fidelity of our stories The world is a set of stories from which we choose, and thus recreate, our lives

Narrative rationality Narrative rationality= narrative coherence + narrative fidelity Narrative Coherence Does the story hang together? Is the story probable? Do the people and events in the story seem to belong together? Are the characters consistent in their actions? Narrative Fidelity Does the story ring true? (seems like something believable) Does the story line up with what I know to be true in my own life?

Narrative transportation If you’re more engrossed/absorbed in a story, those events will be more likely to influence your actual beliefs Why does this occur? It reduces negative cognitive responding Makes narrative experience seem more like real experience Creates strong feelings toward characters in the story which influence readers’ beliefs

Narratives and neuroscience Harvard Business Review Article titled “Why Your Brain Loves Good Storytelling” Oxytocin is a neurochemical that is released when we feel trusted and it motivates cooperation with others The study highlighted in the article discovered that “character-driven stories do consistently cause oxytocin synthesis.” “We discovered that, in order to motivate a desire to help others, a story must first sustain attention – a scarce resource in the brain – by developing tension during the narrative. If the story is able to create that tension then it is likely that attentive viewers/listeners will come to share the emotions of the characters in it, and after it ends, likely to continue mimicking the feelings and behaviors of those characters. “

sources Yale, Robert N. (2015). Narrative persuasion. (Online lecture and PowerPoint slides). Retrieved from http://www.robertyale.com/narrative-persuasion/ Why your brain loves good storytelling. (October 28, 2014). Harvard Business Review. Retrieved from https://hbr.org/2014/10/why-your-brain-loves-good-storytelling (Access through Georgia Tech library.)