10 The Effects of Engagement with Entertainment

Abstract

A meta-analysis was employed to evaluate the state of research on the persuasion effects of involvement with entertainment media. The study investigates the effect of homophily, empathic identification, parasocial relationships, and transportation with entertainment media on attitudinal, behavioral and knowledge-related outcomes. The study identifies the specific conditions under which the effects vary. Results from the meta-analysis suggest that media involvement is moderately associated (r = .27) with persuasive outcomes. The content of the entertainment message (e.g., health, political), controlling for other study artifacts, significantly moderated the effect of involvement on outcomes. Directions for future research and theory development are suggested.