The Impacts of Immersion Effect and Different Narratives When Creating a Message to Prevent Accidental Deaths Related to Dust Storms

Dust storms are common meteorological phenomena in the South West of the United States. One of the dangers associated with these phenomena is the occurrence of road traffic crashes caused by the low visibility induced by the increase in mineral dust particles suspended in the air during dust storms. The present study investigates the use of narratives in dust storm-related news and how these narratives influence the decision to continue driving into a dust storm. We exposed two groups of volunteers to an immersive experience related to a news article about the dangers of driving into dust storms. We used two types of narratives: Personal interest and General interest. The first one centers the attention on the experience of one person or one specific group; in contrast, the second one conserves an unpersonalized general approach when promoting recommendations. Additionally, this study considers other factors such as the previous experiences of readers (audience) and it seeks to evaluate the value of the immersion effect in the level of persuasiveness of one story or another. Dust storms are expected to increase due to climate change and desertification, posing severe risks to transportation safety and public health. Our results will help to produce powerful and personalized messages that target specific vulnerable audiences. Our main objective is to guide communicators and decision-makers on building more effective media products and reduce accidental deaths related to dust storm traffic crashes.