Despite its ubiquity in human life, narrative exposure has only recently begun to receive more theoretical and empirical attention, with the aim to unravel how narratives shape our thoughts and actions. This Working Paper focuses on testimonial narratives to explain what their effects are, how narratives produce these effects, and who are those with a greater probability of being immersed in this form of narratives.

To do so, a pre-registered online experiment was conducted in Spain (N = 1502) and replicated in Hungary (N = 960), where participants had to read diverse immigrant work-life stories, manipulated in terms of narrative frame (immigrant as a Profiteer vs Victim vs Hero), origin of the immigrant (higher vs lower stigma), and narrative voice used (1st vs 3rd person). Then, it measured participants’ attitudes and helping intentions towards immigrants, along with a series of mechanisms that evaluates participants’ psychological experience with the testimony.

The results show a cascade of effects triggered by narrative frames, and notably heightened identification with the protagonist. This emotional connection sets off a series of positive psychological responses, fostering meaningful affect and deep cognitive reflection while reducing counterarguing, and subsequently, more positive attitudes and helping intentions towards immigrants in general.

This infographic summarises the main findings of the research: