Identification with characters and narrative persuasion through fictional feature films JUAN-JOSE ´ IGARTUA E-Mail: jigartua@usal.es Abstract This article presents three studies examining the importance of identifica- tion with characters in research on media entertainment. In Study 1 it was found that identification with characters was associated with spectators’ degree of enjoyment of feature films of different genres. Study 2 showed that identification with characters predicts the affective impact of a dra- matic film and, also, it was associated with greater cognitive elaboration and a more complex reflexive process during the viewing of the dramatic film. In Study 3 it was observed that identification with characters pre- dicted the incidental impact of a full length fictional film on attitudes and beliefs. These results support the centrality of the construct of identification with characters in narrative persuasion research. Keywords: identification with the characters; narrative persuasion; media entertainment; feature films Identification with characters, film involvement and narrative persuasion Vorderer, Steen and Chan (2006) have defined entertainment as a process that “involves the exploration of relationships through simulations that permit individuals to identify with substitute agents and thus create the subjective experience of relationships” (p. 14). From another point of view, for entertainment to be able to exist, a basic need must be satisfied: the need to come into contact with or relate to media characters. In this context the notion of identification with characters has become one of the concepts with the longest tradition in the theory of the impact of fiction (written and audiovisual) and in the study of media entertainment (Cohen, 2001, 2006; Oatley, 1994, 1999, 2002). Nonetheless, empirical research on the effects of identification with characters is still scarce within this field (Cohen, 2001). The main objective of the present article Communications 35 (2010), 347-373 03412059/2010/035-0347 DOI 10.1515/COMM.2010.019  Walter de Gruyter AUTHOR’S COPY | AUTORENEXEMPLAR AUTHOR’S COPY | AUTORENEXEMPLAR