Melanie C. Green’s work primarily focuses on the effects of narratives and stories. In particular, Melanie’s research examines how narratives can change the way individuals think and behave, including the effects of fictional stories on real-world attitudes and behaviors. Her theory of "transportation into a narrative world" focuses on immersion into a story as a mechanism of narrative influence. She has examined persuasion in a variety of contexts, from health communication to social issues, and she has edited two books on these topics (Narrative Impact and Persuasion: Psychological Insights and Perspectives, Second Edition). Her work has also examined the influence of social media on interpersonal interactions. Professor Green is a Fellow of the International Communication Association and the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, and her work has received the Innovation in Theory award from the Mass Communication Division of the International Communication Association. Her research has been funded by the National Science Foundation, NIH, and the Spencer Foundation. 

Educational Background

• PhD, Ohio State University
• MA, Ohio State University
• BA, Eckerd College

Recent Courses

• COM 231: Principles of Persuasion
• COM 337: Communication Theory
• COM 485: Compliance-Gaining

Current Research

• Current research is examining how narratives can be used to create prosocial outcomes for individuals and communities, including increasing self-compassion, helping, and support for marginalized groups.
• We are investigating ways to improve the status of women in STEM fields, including the retention of women in STEM.
• We are studying different types of messages to answer questions such as how narrative engagement occurs in complex narratives and when narratives can improve persuasive outcomes.

Selected Publications

Green, M.C., & Appel, M. (in press). Transportation into narrative worlds. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology.

Andreeva, I., & Green, M.C. (in press). Testing the role of narrative modelling on self-compassion. Journal of Media Psychology.

Lu, A.S., Green, M.C., & Alon, D. (2024). The effect of animated Sci-Fi characters’ racial presentation on narrative engagement, wishful identification, and physical activity intention among children. Journal of Communication, 74(2), 160-172.

Fitzgerald, K., Francemone, C. J., Green, M.C., Grizzard, M., & Frazer, R. (2023).  The emotional flow scale: Validating a measure of dynamic emotional experiences in message reception. Media Psychology, 26(6), 790-811.

Paravati, E., Fitzgerald, K., Green, M.C., McAllister, C., & Moore, M.M. (2022).  Narratives to increase prosociality towards refugees. International Journal of Communication, 16, 2551-2572.