Narrative has been part of inoculation theory’s story for quite some time now, including the use of stories in inoculation treatment messages and narratives used as attack messages. But focused, systematic attention to narrative in inoculation theory is rather limited, despite continuing calls for more attention to narrative and inoculation theory.

Josh Compton & Alicia Mason

One of the biggest lingering questions is whether narratives hurt or help resistance to influence when stories are used as inoculation messages. Narrative can be an effective persuasive strategy in general, and scholars have outlined rationales for why narratives might be an especially effective inoculation treatment strategy. But other characteristics of narrative raise the possibility that narratives might weaken, rather than strengthen, inoculation treatment efforts. So, this chapter explores both: how narratives might strengthen or weaken inoculation efforts. Additionally, this chapter explores a number of other under- or un-answered questions about inoculation theory and narrative, including (1) Might an inoculation treatment message warn about the persuasiveness of narratives as a rhetorical form, and as a result, protect against narrative influence, in general? (2) How might technological advancements—including virtual reality—change inoculation theory-informed storytelling? This chapter also looks at narrative and inoculation theory across a range of contexts, beyond the conventional areas of politics, health, and public relations, into underexplored contexts, such as law and science communication.

Compton, J., & Mason, A. (2020). Narrative and the inoculation theory of resistance to influence. In S. S. Dunn & G. Nisbett (Eds.), Innovations and implications of persuasive narrative (pp. 23-42). Peter Lang Publishing.