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Abstract
This study empirically tested Nabi and Greens (2015) theoretical postulations regarding the persuasive effects of emotional flow in the context of a narrative health message about alcohol mixed with energy drinks. Messages inducing emotional flow were hypothesized to promote transportation and identification which in turn were predicted to influence attitudes, beliefs, and behavioral intention about consuming alcohol mixed with energy drinks. Additionally, evoking emotional flow was hypothesized to promote information seeking and social sharing intention among audiences. The study employed a 2 (emotional shift; shift vs. no shift) x 2 (valence; positive vs. negative) between-subjects factorial design and collected responses from 347 participants. Results revealed that emotional shift messages induced greater transportation and identification than messages that did not induce an emotional shift. Additionally, transportation and identification mediated the effects of emotional shift on attitude and behavioral intention. However, emotional shift messages did not promote greater information seeking and social sharing intention among participants.