Suspense V.S. realism: Deconstructing the mechanisms of transportation.

Introduction
The transportation-imagery model developed by Green and Brock has been researched as
a possible aid in persuasion, which can be achieved through the development of empathy for
characters in a story. This empathy is an affective response through the development of cognitive
associations to characters either through external or narrative realism, empathy can also occur
when a story is structured in a suspenseful manner. Transportation has been explored in the realm
of television and films as well as books. The aim of this study will be to compare the two
modalities and their influence on the development of story-consistent beliefs.
Additionally the transportation of individuals from the comic book medium has not yet
been explored. It is the intention here to see if comic books will transport readers if the content is
compelling enough. The Walking Dead a recent pop-culture phenomenon, is a mass media form
of communication in two mediums: television and comic books. This series will be used as a
comparative reference for transportation as both the comic book and television show contain
qualities identified as important to focusing attention and driving empathy which are precursors
to transportation. As an introduction to the series, episode one of the televised format and volume
one of the comic book format will be used to test the effects of narrative transportation in these
two different forms of communication. There are notable differences in the format of The
Walking Dead comic book and television series. The televised series devotes significant time to
character development, character development is important to develop narrative realism from a
fantastical plot. The comic book series reads more like a book and uses typical literary structure
building upon suspense through plot development. The differences between these modalities will
be used to compare the mechanisms of transportation to explore if either suspense or narrative
realism will lead to a higher correlation of story consistent beliefs.

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Literature Review
The Transportation-Imagery Model
Green and Brock developed a transportation-imagery model (Busselle & Bilandzic, 2008;
Green and Brock, 2000; Green, 2004) which describes how people become immersed by their
focus on events occurring within a narrative. In this sense, readers (or viewers) immersion is
characterized by a level of involvement in which participants no longer have a sense of time and
space in the real world, instead, they are rather completely immersed in the story at hand. This
experience is called transportation, in which a person is no longer aware of themselves as a
separate entity from the narrative but are in fact absorbed into the story-world. An individual
may be transported if they are cognitively and emotionally involved in a story, those who are
reading a narrative may experience vivid mental images, while those who are viewing a narrative
may feel compassion and empathy for the characters being explored (Green, 2004, p. 247).
Transported individuals may walk in a characters shoes, and feel empathy from the
narrative as a consequence. This level of immersion can be achieved through involvement, focus,
and engagement into a narrative, as a consequence of the quality of the narrative. This means that
the setting and characters must be developed in a consistent and well-defined manner so that
those reading or viewing can lose themselves in the story. The transportation-Imagery Model
(Green & Brock, 2002) posits that transportation into a narrative world plays a central role in
persuasion (de Graaf and Hustinx, 2011, p. 143). Therefore, qualities of transportation into a
narrative world can have an impact on persuasion and could affect a readers or viewers beliefs
(Green, 2004). The implication of transportation is that the more a person is transported by a

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narrative the less impervious one will be to the persuasive messages received, which can lead to
belief change.
When a reader or viewer delves into a narrative they become active participants in
processing the information given, which results in the use of cognitive processing to construct
imagery to immerse themselves within a story. The immersion process begins with story
comprehension. The quality of the narrative, its plot, and the chronological order of events are
essential. The logical assembly of the narrative and ordering of situational events progress in
ones mind as if they are present within the narrative. If the setting, characters, and events are
described in a manner that one can visualize with clarity and without background questions then
a reader may be immersed into the story-world through the construction of a mental model.
According to Busselle & Bilandzic (2008) a mental model is a cognitive framework consisting of
all the information gathered through the immersion of a narrative. Alternatively a schema is a
framework that exists independent of the narrative, for example a personal experience that one
has had similar to the story can be useful as a frame of reference to create a visual representation
of the narrative. Therefore, when a person is experiencing immersion or transportation into a
specific narrative, regardless of type (whether they are viewing or reading the narrative) they will
use preexisting memory of situations (people or events they have had an experience with) to
represent the narrative. These schemas are representative to the real world, in which events have
happened or have a possibility of happening.
Within a narrative, creators must imply period, place, and state of affairs in which
viewers or readers can apply relative logic to the narrative. Additionally characters must be
developed in a way that helps viewers or readers understand character identities, traits, specific

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goals, and story progression through specific motivations. Assumptions from the setting will help
engage a person so that they can compare characters to real people, and the story world will
begin to move from the fictional into the realistic realm. This heuristic of creating an actual
world from a narrative is a logical element that helps participants understand the narrative in
terms of real world situations, involving real people. (Busselle & Bilandzic, 2008). The process
of cognitive elaboration relating to real world experiences is an associative process derived from
the perceived realism of a narrative. There are two types of perceived realism in which a
narrative may provide. First external realism, is the extent to which a story reflects real world
situations, and second narrative realism, the believability or logic of a narrative. If a narrative
doesnt have aspects of external or narrative realism it may be difficult for receivers to become
immersed into the storyline. Green (2004) suggests that if individuals perceive a narrative as
realistic (in that it could happen in the real world) then it will have an effect on readers
transportation. Conversely, Busselle & Bilandzic (2008) report that the stories that are most
engaging are often fictional and unrealistic. Many fantasy type books and films (Enders Game,
The Lord of the Rings, and Star Wars) have qualities of transportation. These types of narratives
are not realistic nor comparable to our ordinary lives, what is relevant for these stories is the
consistency of the narrative. As long as the content of a narrative is defined through a logical
explanation then narrative realism can occur and may impact transportation. According to
Busselle & Bilandzic (2008), the more mental capacity used to construct a visualization of the
narrative, the more engaged an viewer or reader will become; but, the more energy that is used to
critically analyze the information, a viewer or reader may decrease in engagement into a storyworld. In addition to perceived realism, a narratives structure may lead to transportation through
the creation of a compelling story that induces emotional reactions.

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Graaf and Hustinx (2011), proposed that affective responses to a narrative are influenced
by a suspenseful structure. A story may elicit emotional reactions if the plot contains an initiation
of an event that will have a significant outcome for a main character. Suspense in a narrative
primarily occurs when a character is exposed to a threat or danger resulting in a negative
outcome. According to Bezdek et al. (2015) suspense in a narrative can focus a reader or
viewers attention because stimuli based on a threat evokes the processing of negative emotions
and increases focus. In their 2015 study, Bezdek et al. studied brain activity of participants
watching a suspenseful film while connected to an MRI machine. They found that several areas
of the brain which process information either centrally or peripherally were activated while
viewing. The suspenseful narratives had initiated a decrease in the region of the brain that
processes peripherally and showed an increase of processing in the region of the brain that
processes information centrally. They proposed that this finding reflects that when a narrative is
suspenseful the decrease in peripheral processing is due to the narrative capturing the attention of
participants and immersing them into the story world through mental participation. This may
provide some evidence that a suspenseful narrative can further engage viewers or readers into
story. Accordingly, the added component of suspense aids in driving affective and cognitive
responses which are a precursor to transportation, thus a suspenseful structure stimulates
cognition and emotions, emotions and cognition impact transportation, and transportation
influences beliefs.
Framework
Structural Affect

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The structure of a narrative regards its plot and the chronological ordering of situational
event which builds suspense in a narrative. When the structure is altered to build suspense it can
evoke emotional reactions which leads to transportation, which is a significant factor in the
development of story-consistent beliefs (de Graaf and Hustinx, 2011). Tal-Or and Cohen (2010)
found that transportation is highly correlated with suspense, so an increase of suspense may also
increase transportation. Therefore a suspenseful story can lead to the development of storyconsistent beliefs. Volume one of The Walking Dead comic series is a highly developed and
suspenseful narrative. The comic book delivers a compelling story in which the main character is
constantly threatened by the undead. Unfortunately the comic book series does little to provide
background information on characters. The development of characters in a way that readers may
feel connected by association pertains to narrative realism. Narrative realism through character
development is more prevalent in the televised version of The Walking Dead.
Perceived Realism
According to Busselle and Bilandzic (2008) character development is intrinsic to
transportation effects in regards to narrative realism. Additionally Green (2004) concedes that
realism doesnt necessarily imply a real-world non-fictional setting, but rather that characters
should act in a manner similar to real people if they were in a comparable situation. When
viewers or readers are deeply absorbed into a narrative they may find themselves caring about
the characters, identification with a character through character development helps create
empathy which leaves viewers (or readers) on the edge of their seats when characters experience
immediate danger. The post-apocalyptic story world of The Walking Dead is not realistic. Thus,
the characters involved in The Walking Dead as well as their actions and contextual logic are

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important. The detailed background information the television series offers may help viewers
afford a deeper understanding of characters and their actions within the narrative. In episode one
of The Walking Dead characters stories are told in a way that viewers can identify and empathize
with them. Empathy for characters through perceived realism may encourage transportation
resulting in the attainment of story-consistent beliefs.
The differences of structure in the comic book and televised versions of The Walking
Dead provide a unique mechanism to study perceived realism and suspense through structural
affect as emergent qualities of transportation. Additionally the purpose of this study is to explore
whether perceived realism or suspense have a stronger impact on persuasion through the
development of story consistent beliefs.

Television

Perceiv
ed
Realism

Transportatio
n

Story
Consiste
nt
Beliefs

Suspen
se
Structu
re

Comic
Books

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Justification
The differences between types of narratives are that written narratives such as books,
blogs, or short stories, like those written for magazines require a reader to use their imagination
to create mental models of the story. Additionally readers may process information at their own
pace. Viewers of television and film, are provided with images and consumers may not control
the rate of information processing. Researchers have found that processing the information from
a narrative can be explained by similar processing mechanisms regardless of how the message is
distributed (Busselle & Bilandzic, 2008; Hall & Bracken, 2011). Therefore it may be interesting
to examine whether a comic book, where imagery is provided can effectively transport readers.
Furthermore, since the structure of The Walking Dead comic and televised formats differ in
prevalent mechanisms of transportation, it provides a vehicle to compare perceived realism to
suspense which hasnt been explored in previous studies. Only a few studies have explored
suspense as a mechanism for transportation, this study will contribute insight as to whether
suspense or perceived realism attribute to significantly higher levels of self-reported
transportation. Additionally, if suspense is a high correlate of transportation then this study will
contribute to the addition of suspense as a possible factor to include in the development of
narratives, especially in those with the intent to persuade an audience. Finally, if comic books
such as The Walking Dead can transport readers resulting in story-consistent beliefs, then further
research should be done to test whether comic books may be a viable form of communication

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used to persuade readers. Perhaps health-related messages can be written in to popular comic
books to sway future generations.
The televised version of The Walking Dead devotes more time to character development,
which is essential to explaining and understanding the characters and their motives. If the
characters in the narrative act similar to how real people would act in a similar situation then
narrative realism ensues and elevates the possibility of emotional responses such as empathy for
the characters in the story. As a precursor to transportation I propose the following hypothesis:
H1: Viewers of the televised version of The Walking Dead series will be more transported
than readers of the comic book series with regard to perceived realism through character
development.
The structure of The Walking Dead comic (volume one) is similar to the structure of a
book in that there is an introduction, an event that threatens the fate of a character, and a
climactic ending. Readers may perceive the comic book as more suspenseful than viewers
episode one of The Walking Dead. Since suspense is highly correlated with transportation I
propose the following hypothesis:
H2: Readers of The Walking Dead comic book will be more transported than viewers of
the televised series with regard to the suspense structure of the series.
Finally, if perceived realism and a suspenseful structure are both mechanisms of
transportation then both readers and viewers should report story consistent beliefs. If the readers
and viewers are not transported then they may not be persuaded by the comic or the televised
format. Therefore, I propose the following hypothesis:

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H3: High transportation participants in both modalities (television and comic) will be
more likely to report story consistent beliefs than low transportation participants.
Method
Participants
Students from a Midwestern University will be asked to participate in a two item survey
indicating whether or not they are familiar with The Walking Dead series, and whether or not
they enjoy reading comic books. Only the students who report they are not familiar with The
Walking Dead, and that they enjoy reading comic books will be recruited to be part of this study.
Possible participants will be randomly selected using a random number generator to either the
viewing or the reading groups for The Walking Dead series.
Materials
A link to volume one of the comic book series as well as episode one of the television
show will be provided to participants so that they may watch or read in the comfort of their own
home. Viewing or reading in a non-laboratory setting will provide a real world context for the
results. Additionally, the streaming version of the televised version will not include
advertisements to avoid possible interaction effects that a commercial break may add for those
watching the televised series live.
In episode one of the televised format viewers are introduced to Rick, the main character.
Rick is shown as a police officer who is shot and wakes up from a coma to find that he is in the

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midst of a zombie apocalypse. The televised format delves into how Rick searches for his family
and meets a fellow survivor.
Volume one of the comic series differs because it takes readers further into Ricks story.
Rick finds that his family has been taken care of, in more ways than one, by his best friend and
partner Shane who had found a group of survivors to live with. In addition to the frequent threat
of being attacked by zombies (at least two characters die), a showdown between Rick and Shane
ends with a death.
Procedure
All students participating in this study will take a survey immediately after watching or
reading the series. The questionnaire will include demographic items such as age, sex, race, and
religious preference as those items may be used as a control. The questionnaire will also include
items measuring transportation, perceived realism, suspense, and story consistent beliefs. For
each measure participants will answer items on a Likert-based scale of agreement where 1
(strongly disagree) signifies the least amount of agreement, and 7 (strongly agree) signifies the
highest level of agreement for each item.
Transportation. Items from the transportation scale (Green & Brock,2000; Rubenking,
2005) contains 12 items assessing individuals transportation into a narrative. It measures the
development of mental imagery, respondents emotional reactions, and how engaged participants
were in the narrative. An example item is, While I was reading, I could easily picture the events
in the narrative taking place.

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Perceived realism. All eight items from the perceived realism scale (Green, 2004) were
included to measure believability of characters, the setting, and the narrative as a whole. Sample
items include: The dialogue in the narrative is realistic and believable and People in this
narrative are like people you or I might actually know.
Suspense structure. A six item scale measuring suspense was developed based on
adaptions to the transportation scale used in the de Graaf and Hustinx (2011) study. Sample items
include: I wasnt sure what the outcome would be in this story, and I found this story
suspenseful.
Story consistent beliefs. An eleven item scale was created based on conclusions that may
be attained reading or viewing The Walking Dead series. Sample items include: Justice should
be taken in ones own hands if the institutions of law no longer exist, The most effective way
to survive in a catastrophic event would be to find a group of people for support, and finally an
item specific to the comic book only (because it is only consistent with volume one of the comic)
includes: If society were to fall gendered roles would still exist.
Discussion
Not only is this study unique because it is one of a kind, in that it compares narrative
transportation into a television show versus a comic book series, but it will also attribute to
which quality of transportation may contribute to agreement with story consistent beliefs.
Additionally, comic books are a distinctive mode of persuasion as they may appeal to a younger
audience and be used to transmit health messages for persuasive purposes. Comic books as a
possible medium of persuasion have largely been ignored, yet the comic books sales in North

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America in 2015 totaled $579.12 million (Yearly Rankings for Comic Book Sales,), and in
2014 there were over 24 million self-identified fans of comic books in the United States
(Schenker, 2014). Thus comic books are a viable pop culture phenomenon that should be
examined as a mass communication medium to be used for persuasive purposes.
According Baker (2014), Marvels Civil War carried an underlying message of discord
with the patriot act, with the implementation of the superhuman registration act, a law that would
require all persons in the U.S. who have superpowers to register with the government, and those
who didnt cooperate were put in prison. The Green Lantern: New Guardians, was described as
an allegory to environmentalism, in which the superhero called for sustainable living. If reading
these popular series reflected belief changes due to the underlying messages, the effects of
narrative transportation in comic books on story consistent beliefs is a viable are of research.
In conclusion, with the method and results from this study one will gather which message
strategy is more substantial to transportation. Perceived realism, whether it is narrative or
external realism, for the identification with and compassion for characters. Or a narrative with a
suspenseful structure, so that viewers or readers are more attentive to the story and less inclined
to reject story-consistent beliefs.

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References
Baker, T. (2014, June 6). 8 Comics With Hidden Meanings You Totally Missed. Retrieved April
16, 2016, from http://whatculture.com/superheroes/8-comics-hidden-meanings-totallymissed

Suspense V.S. realism: Deconstructing the mechanisms of transportation.

15

Bezdek, M. A., Gerrig, R. J., Wenzel, W. G., Shin, J., Pirog Revill, K., & Schumacher, E. H.
(2015). Neural evidence that suspense narrows attentional focus. Neuroscience, 303, 338345.
Busselle, R., & Bilandzic, H. (2008). Fictionality and perceived realism in experiencing stories:
A model of narrative comprehension and engagement. Communication Theory (10503293),
18(2), 255-280.
de Graaf, A., & Hustinx, L. (2011). The effect of story structure on emotion, transportation, and
persuasion. Information Design Journal (IDJ), 19(2), 142-154.
Green, M.C., & Brock, T.C. (2000). The role of transportation in the persuasiveness of public
narratives. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 79(5), 701-721.
Green, M. C. (2004). Transportation into narrative worlds: The role of prior knowledge and
perceived realism. Discourse Processes: A Multidisciplinary Journal, 38(2), 247-266.
Hall, A., & Zwarun, L. (2012). Challenging entertainment: Enjoyment, transportation, and need
for cognition in relation to fictional films viewed online. Mass Communication & Society,
15(3), 384-406.

Kirkman, Robert (2008). The Walking Dead Comic book: online presentation
http://www.slideshare.net/dmxallen/the-walking-dead-vol-1-25775901

Suspense V.S. realism: Deconstructing the mechanisms of transportation.

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Rubenking, B. E. (2008). Learning from crime dramas. [electronic resource] : The role of
presence and transportation in attitude change Cleveland, Ohio : Cleveland State
University, 2008.
Schenker, B. (2014, February 05). Market Research Says 46.67% of Comic Fans are Female.
Retrieved April 16, 2016, from http://www.comicsbeat.com/market-research-says-46female-comic-fans/
Yearly Rankings for Comic Book Sales. (n.d.). Retrieved April 16, 2016, from
http://www.comichron.com/yearlycomicssales.html

Appendix A: Secondary Questionnaire items.

Transportation scale items (1-7 Likert-type scale, 1= not at all, 7 = very much)
1. While I was watching/reading, I could easily picture the events in it taking place

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2. While I was watching/reading, activity going on in the room around me was on my

mind*
3. I could easily picture myself in some of the scenes depicted on screen
4. I was mentally involved with the video/comic while watching/reading it
5. After viewing the show or reading the comic, it was easy to put it out of my mind
6. I wanted to learn how the show/comic ended
7. The show/comic affected me emotionally
8. I found myself thinking of ways the show/comic could have turned out differently
9. I found my mind wandering while watching/reading the series*
10. The events in the narrative changed my life
11. I had a vivid imagery of the characters while I was watching/reading the story.
12. After watching/reading the beginning of the series I think I would enjoy watching or
reading more of The Walking Dead series to find out what happens to Rick and his
family.

Perceived Realism Scale items (1-7 Likert-type scale, 1= not at all, 7 = very much)
1. The dialogue in the narrative is realistic and believable.
2. The setting for the narrative just doesnt seem real.
3. People in this narrative are like people you or I might actually know.
4. The way people really live their everyday lives is not portrayed very accurately in this
narrative.
5. Events that actually have happened or could happen are discussed in this narrative.
6. This narrative shows that people have both good and bad sides.
7. I have a hard time believing the people in this narrative are real because the basic
situation is so far-fetched.
8. This narrative deals with the kind of very difficult choices people in real life have to
make.

Suspense Structure Scale items (1-7 Likert-type scale, 1= not at all, 7 = very much)
1. I wasnt sure what the outcome would be in this story
2. I found this story suspenseful
3. During reading/watching I felt tension about how the story would end
4. The characters in this story have a high risk of death
5. I felt worried about what would happen next in this story
6. After reading/watching the single episode/comic I feel inclined to find out more about
what happens to the group next.
Story Consistent beliefs:
1. Justice should be taken in ones own hands if the institutions of law no longer exist.
2. If society were to fall gendered roles would still exist (comic only).

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3. The most effective way to survive in a catastrophic event would be to find a group of
people for support.
4. Those who do not have a support system will not survive in an extreme situation.
5. Most people would change if they had to deal with an extreme situation.
6. People will not lose hope or humanity in the wake of a catastrophic event.
7. Compassion for others is what helps keep people safe in the walking dead.
8. Even in the unruly world of the walking dead, democratic structures still exist in
group dynamics.
9. Those who are ethically flexible will be more apt to survive in extreme circumstance,
such as that in The Walking Dead.
10. The Walking Dead is about people, not zombies.
11. Leadership is a necessary goal for any social organization.