What Is Narrative Transportation?

Narrative transportation is the experience of being completely absorbed in a story. Transportation can make stories more persuasive. Learn more here.

January 17, 2025 · 8 min · 1596 words · Danny Fry

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Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsWhat Is Narrative Transportation?Characteristics of a Transporting NarrativeImpact

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Table of Contents

What Is Narrative Transportation?

Characteristics of a Transporting Narrative

Impact

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Narrative transportation, which is often simply referred to as transportation, is the experience of being immersed in astory. When one is transported into a narrative in any medium, from print to film to podcasts to virtual reality, they are absorbed cognitively, emotionally, and in the imagery of the story.

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Of course, in order for a consumer to experience transportation, they have to watch, read, or listen to anarrativethey can become absorbed in. There are several factors that contribute to transportation into a particular narrative, including features of the text itself and individual differences between consumers.

Features of the Text

Kreuter and his colleagues suggested several features that should be incorporated into a quality narrative that is likely to make it particularly transporting. These include coherence, plot and character development, adhering to the rules of the narrative world, suspense and dramatic tension, the perception of realism,emotionalintensity, and using visual and linguistic conventions that are familiar to the intended audience.

Situational Characteristics

On the other hand, if someone is consuming a narrative to avoid boredom or tasks that they’d rather not do, even a subpar narrative may be transporting because the consumer is particularly motivated to escape their current circumstances.

Individual Differences

No two people are exactly alike, and their individualpersonalitytraits impact which stories they will find most transporting. When it comes to transportation, one of the most important individual differences is referred to as transportability, the extent to which a media consumer is likely to become immersed in a story.

Highly transportable individuals are likely to experience transportation into even the shortest narratives, while people who are less transportable may not experience transportation into even the most high-quality narratives.

Other individual differences impact transportation as well. For example, a study showed that research participants higher in the traits ofempathyandsensation seeking, or the desire to experience varied and heightened feelings and sensations, were more transported into the filmsUpandCasino Royalethan participants who scored lower on these traits.

Similarly, another study demonstrated that individuals with a higher need forcognition, or the need for mental activity, experienced greater transportation when reading, while those with a low need for cognition experienced greater transportation when watching a movie.

Prior Knowledge

It’s also been shown that prior knowledge of or experience with the world depicted in a narrative can help consumers find a story more transporting.

For instance, in a study in which participants read a story about a gay man attending a reunion for his college fraternity, those more familiar with American fraternities and sororities or who had LGBTQQIA+ friends and family members were more transported into the story.

Personal Preferences

Impact of Narrative Transportation

While we often think of consuming a story as something we do purely for entertainment, there are consequences to narrative transportation that are both positive and negative.

Enjoyment

Scholars have posited that one of the reasons people seek out and consume stories is because it’s a pleasurable experience, and research has shown that narrative transportation is highly correlated with enjoyment.

Green, Brock, and Kaufmansuggest people may enjoy being transported into a story because it can lead to specific benefits, including leaving concerns or fears behind.

It may also help consumers explore different places outside their everyday reality, enable consumers to experience the perspective of people in different situations and environments than themselves, and assist withmoodmanagement.

Moreover, consumers may even enjoy being transported into a narrative that leads to unpleasant emotions like anger, fright, or sadness because this enables them to vicariously explore their ability to handle these emotions within the safety of the world of the story.

Persuasion

Transportation can alsopersuade people to adopt beliefs, attitudes, and behaviorsconsistent with the narratives they’ve consumed. This can be used positively.

For example, people who decide to eat more vegetables after consuming a narrative about healthy eating habits will benefit from their experience of being transported into the narrative.

On the other hand, this can lead to negative outcomes. For example, adolescents who are transported into a narrative that makes it seem as if all teenagers engage in unsafe sex practices may come to believe everyone is having unsafe sex and that, if they want to fit in, they should too.

Studies have demonstrated that greater transportation into a narrative leads to stronger story-consistent beliefs.There are several reasons for this, including:

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9 SourcesVerywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Green MC, Brock TC.The role of transportation in the persuasiveness of public narratives.J Pers Soc Psychol. 2000;79(5):701-721. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.79.5.701Gerrig RJ.Experiencing Narrative Worlds. New Haven: Yale University Press; 1993.Kreuter MW, Green MC, Cappella JN, et al.Narrative communication in cancer prevention and control: A framework to guide research and application.Ann Behav Med. 2007;33(3):221-235. doi:10.1007/BF02879904Green MC, Brock TC, Kaufman GF.Understanding Media Enjoyment: The Role of Transportation Into Narrative Worlds.Communication Theory. 2004;14(4):311-327. doi:10.1111/j.1468-2885.2004.tb00317.xGreen MC.Transportation into narrative worlds. In: Frank LB, Falzone P, eds.Entertainment-Education Behind the Scenes. Springer International Publishing; 2021:87-101. doi:10.1007/978-3-030-63614-2_6Thompson JM, Teasdale B, Duncan S et al.Individual Differences in Transportation into Narrative Drama.Review of General Psychology. 2018;22(2):210-219. doi:10.1037/gpr0000130Green MC, Kass S, Carrey J, Herzig B, Feeney R, Sabini J.Transportation Across Media: Repeated Exposure to Print and Film.Media Psychol. 2008;11(4):512-539. doi:10.1080/15213260802492000Green MC.Transportation Into Narrative Worlds: The Role of Prior Knowledge and Perceived Realism.Discourse Process. 2004;38(2):247-266. doi:10.1207/s15326950dp3802_5Green M, Brock T. In the mind’s eye: Transportation-imagery model of narrative persuasion. In: Green M, Strange J, Brock T, ed.Narrative Impact: Social And Cognitive Foundations. 1st ed. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Publishers; 2002:315-341.

9 Sources

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Green MC, Brock TC.The role of transportation in the persuasiveness of public narratives.J Pers Soc Psychol. 2000;79(5):701-721. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.79.5.701Gerrig RJ.Experiencing Narrative Worlds. New Haven: Yale University Press; 1993.Kreuter MW, Green MC, Cappella JN, et al.Narrative communication in cancer prevention and control: A framework to guide research and application.Ann Behav Med. 2007;33(3):221-235. doi:10.1007/BF02879904Green MC, Brock TC, Kaufman GF.Understanding Media Enjoyment: The Role of Transportation Into Narrative Worlds.Communication Theory. 2004;14(4):311-327. doi:10.1111/j.1468-2885.2004.tb00317.xGreen MC.Transportation into narrative worlds. In: Frank LB, Falzone P, eds.Entertainment-Education Behind the Scenes. Springer International Publishing; 2021:87-101. doi:10.1007/978-3-030-63614-2_6Thompson JM, Teasdale B, Duncan S et al.Individual Differences in Transportation into Narrative Drama.Review of General Psychology. 2018;22(2):210-219. doi:10.1037/gpr0000130Green MC, Kass S, Carrey J, Herzig B, Feeney R, Sabini J.Transportation Across Media: Repeated Exposure to Print and Film.Media Psychol. 2008;11(4):512-539. doi:10.1080/15213260802492000Green MC.Transportation Into Narrative Worlds: The Role of Prior Knowledge and Perceived Realism.Discourse Process. 2004;38(2):247-266. doi:10.1207/s15326950dp3802_5Green M, Brock T. In the mind’s eye: Transportation-imagery model of narrative persuasion. In: Green M, Strange J, Brock T, ed.Narrative Impact: Social And Cognitive Foundations. 1st ed. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Publishers; 2002:315-341.

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

Green MC, Brock TC.The role of transportation in the persuasiveness of public narratives.J Pers Soc Psychol. 2000;79(5):701-721. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.79.5.701Gerrig RJ.Experiencing Narrative Worlds. New Haven: Yale University Press; 1993.Kreuter MW, Green MC, Cappella JN, et al.Narrative communication in cancer prevention and control: A framework to guide research and application.Ann Behav Med. 2007;33(3):221-235. doi:10.1007/BF02879904Green MC, Brock TC, Kaufman GF.Understanding Media Enjoyment: The Role of Transportation Into Narrative Worlds.Communication Theory. 2004;14(4):311-327. doi:10.1111/j.1468-2885.2004.tb00317.xGreen MC.Transportation into narrative worlds. In: Frank LB, Falzone P, eds.Entertainment-Education Behind the Scenes. Springer International Publishing; 2021:87-101. doi:10.1007/978-3-030-63614-2_6Thompson JM, Teasdale B, Duncan S et al.Individual Differences in Transportation into Narrative Drama.Review of General Psychology. 2018;22(2):210-219. doi:10.1037/gpr0000130Green MC, Kass S, Carrey J, Herzig B, Feeney R, Sabini J.Transportation Across Media: Repeated Exposure to Print and Film.Media Psychol. 2008;11(4):512-539. doi:10.1080/15213260802492000Green MC.Transportation Into Narrative Worlds: The Role of Prior Knowledge and Perceived Realism.Discourse Process. 2004;38(2):247-266. doi:10.1207/s15326950dp3802_5Green M, Brock T. In the mind’s eye: Transportation-imagery model of narrative persuasion. In: Green M, Strange J, Brock T, ed.Narrative Impact: Social And Cognitive Foundations. 1st ed. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Publishers; 2002:315-341.

Green MC, Brock TC.The role of transportation in the persuasiveness of public narratives.J Pers Soc Psychol. 2000;79(5):701-721. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.79.5.701

Gerrig RJ.Experiencing Narrative Worlds. New Haven: Yale University Press; 1993.

Kreuter MW, Green MC, Cappella JN, et al.Narrative communication in cancer prevention and control: A framework to guide research and application.Ann Behav Med. 2007;33(3):221-235. doi:10.1007/BF02879904

Green MC, Brock TC, Kaufman GF.Understanding Media Enjoyment: The Role of Transportation Into Narrative Worlds.Communication Theory. 2004;14(4):311-327. doi:10.1111/j.1468-2885.2004.tb00317.x

Green MC.Transportation into narrative worlds. In: Frank LB, Falzone P, eds.Entertainment-Education Behind the Scenes. Springer International Publishing; 2021:87-101. doi:10.1007/978-3-030-63614-2_6

Thompson JM, Teasdale B, Duncan S et al.Individual Differences in Transportation into Narrative Drama.Review of General Psychology. 2018;22(2):210-219. doi:10.1037/gpr0000130

Green MC, Kass S, Carrey J, Herzig B, Feeney R, Sabini J.Transportation Across Media: Repeated Exposure to Print and Film.Media Psychol. 2008;11(4):512-539. doi:10.1080/15213260802492000

Green MC.Transportation Into Narrative Worlds: The Role of Prior Knowledge and Perceived Realism.Discourse Process. 2004;38(2):247-266. doi:10.1207/s15326950dp3802_5

Green M, Brock T. In the mind’s eye: Transportation-imagery model of narrative persuasion. In: Green M, Strange J, Brock T, ed.Narrative Impact: Social And Cognitive Foundations. 1st ed. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Publishers; 2002:315-341.

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