Bittersweet emotion and narrative transportation in streaming drama: cognitive and emotional routes to persuasion

This study examines how cognitive and emotional components of the Extended Transportation-Imagery Model (ETIM) are associated with relational moral beliefs and behavioral intentions in the context of serialized streaming drama. Survey data from 300 Korean viewers of a Netflix original series were analyzed using structural equation modeling. Character identification, perceived verisimilitude, and cultural familiarity were positively associated with narrative transportation. Narrative transportation was, in turn, associated with relational moral beliefs both directly and indirectly through bittersweet emotion. Bittersweet emotion, characterized by the coexistence of warmth- and sadness-related affect, was associated with reflective engagement with relational moral beliefs and related behavioral intentions. Rather than making causal claims, this study provides cross-sectional evidence consistent with a dual-route interpretation of narrative engagement in long-form streaming contexts. These findings highlight the possible relevance of emotionally complex storytelling for understanding belief-oriented responses to serialized narratives.