Master narratives are culturally vetted stories that guide collective action. Over an 18-month period, we examined the dynamism inherent in master narratives of the 2016 American presidential election. In assessments separated six months apart, four independent samples of Clinton and Trump voters provided their stories of election night 2016 and rated the positivity and vividness of these experiences. Narratives were additionally quantified along both linguistic (I-talk and We-talk) and conceptual (redemption and contamination) dimensions. Over time: (a) election night experiences became less vivid, (b) the proportion of We-words in election night narratives increased (suggesting greater group identification), (c) Clinton supporters’ evaluations of their election nights became marginally more positive (suggesting an increased optimism), and (d) Trump supporters’ narratives became less redemptive (suggesting a reduced enthusiasm for this historical event). These results signal the enduring and dynamic elements of the narratives central to two of America's diametrically opposed sociopolitical groups.

中文翻译：

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穿越时空的情节主叙事：探索 2016 年选举之夜故事的时间活力

主叙事是经过文化审查的故事，可指导集体行动。在 18 个月的时间里，我们研究了 2016 年美国总统大选的主要叙事中固有的活力。在相隔六个月的评估中，克林顿和特朗普选民的四个独立样本提供了他们 2016 年选举之夜的故事，并对这些经历的积极性和生动性进行了评价。叙事还沿着语言（I-talk 和 We-talk）和概念（救赎和污染）维度进行量化。随着时间的推移：(a) 选举之夜的经历变得不那么生动，(b) 选举之夜叙述中我们词的比例增加了（表明更多的群体认同），（c）克林顿支持者对他们的选举之夜的评价略微变得更加积极（表明更加乐观），(d) 特朗普支持者的叙述变得不那么具有救赎性（表明对这一历史事件的热情降低）。这些结果标志着美国两个截然相反的社会政治团体的核心叙事的持久和动态元素。