The Impact of Move Structure of Exemplary Narrative on Reader Attitudes

This study employed a between-subjects experiment in which participants read a weight-loss narrative featuring a protagonist, Xiaomei. The experiment manipulated the narrative’s move structures, varying between sequential move structures and interwoven move structures. We aimed to establish a causal relationship between move structure and narrative appeal, and to explore a social comparison-based mediating mechanism. Participants (N = 320), recruited through a Chinese online platform, were representative of the general population. After excluding participants who failed a manipulation check assessing attentive reading, the final sample consisted of 264 participants (190 female, 74 male; Mage = 29.14 years, SDage = 7.44; MBMI = 21.70, SDBMI = 2.85).The experimental procedure involved participants being randomly assigned to read one of the experimental narratives. Each narrative was presented over eight pages, with a minimum viewing time of 8-11 seconds per page to ensure reading comprehension. A two-item multiple-choice manipulation check, asking “Which of the following best describes the protagonist’s weight-loss journey?” was used to exclude participants who failed to demonstrate attentive reading.Subsequently, participants rated: (1) the appeal of the story using three 7-point scales (1 = not at all, 7 = very much), assessing favorability, enjoyment, and attractiveness; (2) their willingness to read similar stories on the platform (1 = not at all willing, 7 = very willing); and (3) their willingness to subscribe to the platform for similar stories (1 = not at all willing, 7 = very willing; Cronbach's α = 0.881). This multidimensional approach sought to provide a comprehensive attitude assessment, encompassing both immediate reactions and long-term engagement intentions (Zhang & Chen, 2015).Next, participants completed a questionnaire assessing potential mediating variables, including social comparison. Social comparison tendency was measured using a modified version of the Iowa-Netherlands Comparison Orientation Measure (INCOM; Gibbons & Buunk, 1999), translated by Bai, Liu, and Liu (2013). We selected items relevant to the narrative context and focused comparisons within the context of reading weight-loss stories, including: (1) “When reading this story, I focused on the differences between myself and the protagonist’s weight-loss journey”; (2) “While reading, I compared myself with weight-loss bloggers”; (3) “When reading, I tried to understand what the protagonist thought when facing difficulties”; (4) “While reading, I often wondered what the protagonist would do if faced with a weight-loss challenge like mine”; and (5) "After reading, I would like to know more about weight-loss information, and I will try to find out what others think about weight loss” (1 = strongly disagree, 7 = strongly agree; Cronbach's α = 0.826). Higher scores indicate greater social comparison during reading.To control for potential confounding factors, two 7-point scales (1 = very negative, 7 = very positive and 1 = very unnatural, 7 = very natural) were adapted from Berger et al. (2021) to assess narrative valence and naturalness.Finally, participants provided demographic information, including gender, age, height, and weight, as control variables.