The Impact of Move Structure of Exemplary Narrative on Reader Attitudes

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.