TY - JOUR
T1 - The power of narratives
T2 - The effect of entertainment television organ donation storylines on the attitudes, knowledge, and behaviors of donors and nondonors
AU - Morgan, Susan E.
AU - Movius, Lauren
AU - Cody, Michael J.
PY - 2009/4/8
Y1 - 2009/4/8
N2 - Drawing on theories of social learning, social representations and the organ donation model, online surveys were used to examine the impact of organ donation storylines of 4 U.S. television dramas (CSI: NY, Numb3rs, House, and Grey's Anatomy) on viewers' attitudes, knowledge, and behaviors. Results revealed that viewers acquired knowledge from the content of each drama, despite the fact that some content was inaccurate. Viewers who were not organ donors prior to exposure to the dramas were more likely to decide to donate organs if the drama explicitly encouraged donation, portrayed characters revealing how they had become donors and discussed the merits of donating. Viewers were also more likely to become an organ donor if they were emotionally involved in the narrative. Implications for using dramas to educate and motivate the public were discussed.
AB - Drawing on theories of social learning, social representations and the organ donation model, online surveys were used to examine the impact of organ donation storylines of 4 U.S. television dramas (CSI: NY, Numb3rs, House, and Grey's Anatomy) on viewers' attitudes, knowledge, and behaviors. Results revealed that viewers acquired knowledge from the content of each drama, despite the fact that some content was inaccurate. Viewers who were not organ donors prior to exposure to the dramas were more likely to decide to donate organs if the drama explicitly encouraged donation, portrayed characters revealing how they had become donors and discussed the merits of donating. Viewers were also more likely to become an organ donor if they were emotionally involved in the narrative. Implications for using dramas to educate and motivate the public were discussed.
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U2 - 10.1111/j.1460-2466.2008.01408.x
DO - 10.1111/j.1460-2466.2008.01408.x
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:63649092774
VL - 59
SP - 135
EP - 151
JO - Journal of Communication
JF - Journal of Communication
SN - 0021-9916
IS - 1
ER -