This study conceptually and empirically distinguishes two mental processes in narrative processing of food safety health messages—identification with and egocentric projection onto story characters. Two studies examined the effects of narrative autobiographical accounts of contracting foodborne illness (salmonella) because of careless food preparation. Both studies consistently found that identification increased, but egocentric projection decreased audience members’ behavioral intention to perform safe food handling practices, indicating that egocentric projection and identification represent unique mental processes and yield distinct persuasive outcomes. In addition, confirmatory factor analyses provided evidence that egocentric projection and identification are distinct constructs. Implications for the role of identification and egocentric projection for understanding narrative processing and for health persuasion are discussed.

本研究从概念上和经验上区分了食品安全健康信息叙事处理中的两种心理过程——对故事人物的认同和以自我为中心的投射。两项研究调查了由于粗心的食物准备而感染食源性疾病（沙门氏菌）的叙事自传的影响。两项研究一致发现认同增加，但以自我为中心的投射降低了观众执行安全食品处理实践的行为意图，表明以自我为中心的投射和认同代表了独特的心理过程并产生了明显的说服结果。此外，验证性因素分析提供了证据，证明以自我为中心的投射和认同是不同的结构。