You are who you watch: Identification and transportation effects on temporary self-concept

Identification and transportation are believed to be major moderators of the impact of media consumption on its consumers. A study (N = 118) was conducted to examine the effects of identification and transportation on activation of media concepts in the “real world” lives of media consumers. Results indicated that under conditions of high identification, participants temporarily displayed increased activation of trait characteristics displayed by a character in a film clip within their self-concept. Supportive albeit inconsistent evidence of a similar role for transportation was also obtained. These findings indicate that traits exhibited by media characters may spill over into the self-concept of the viewer, and identification and transportation appear to play a significant role in such increased activation.