The argument from example in health communication: Persuading and enabling patients to live a healthier life

Abstract

The argument from example is frequently used in health communication interventions. Some of these arguments are narrative in nature, in the sense that they relate a series of logically related events containing an experiencing agonist. In this article, research on narrative persuasion is discussed in order to show how such narrative arguments from examples can influence the target audience’s beliefs about the possibility that certain action will lead to certain consequences, the desirability of such consequences, as well as provide the target audience with ways by which to circumvent obstacles that prevent them from putting their intentions into actions. As such, narrative arguments from example can serve the needs of both people who still need to be motivated to change their behavior as those of people who already intend to adapt their behavior but fail to put this intention into action.