Arizona State University

Narrative Networks (N2) – Pre-Award

Progress, Status and Management Report
Quarterly Progress Report

Period Covered by the Report

April 1, 2012 through June 30, 2012 (Pre-Award)

July 15, 2012:

Project Title: Toward Narrative Disruptors and Inductors: Mapping the Narrative
Comprehension Network and its Persuasive Effects
Contract/Grant Number: D12AP00074
Total Dollar Value: $6,081,622.00
Program Manager: Dr. William Casebeer, DARPA

Submitted by:
Dr. Steven Corman
PO Box 871205,
Tempe, AZ 85287-1205

Telephone: 480-965-3830
Fax: 480-965-4291
Email: steve.corman@asu.edu

Distribution List and Addresses

Dr. William Casebeer, William.Casebeer@darpa.mil
Melissa McAbee, Melissa M McAbee@nbc.gov
Roy Peters, Roy_L_Peters@nbc.gov

Security Classification – Unclassified

Do not mark document as confidential or business proprietary.
 Technical Information – Financial Management
1. Technical Progress / Quarterly Expenditure Report (Please provide cumulative
spending graph).

Figure 1. Cumulative Spending Plan

Please provide Pre-award schedule of tasks and events for this report period, with financial
expenditures broken down by task.

Task 1.1 – Startup task $102,280.75

Task 1.2 – Narrative Stimuli $59,086.05
Task 1.3 – Persuasion Protocol
Task 1.4 – Multi-model imaging
Task 1.5 – Knowledge Capture and Write results
Task 1.6 – Progress report $28,624.71
Task 1.7 – Travel $8,398.85

Total expenditures for the reporting period - $198,390.35 (estimated)

Actual Cost versus Planned Costs
Current Cost ($) Total Phase 1 Cost ($)
Plan $0 $2,303,196
Actual $198,390.35
Difference $198,390.35

2. Technical Progress / Highlights - Observations

Task 1.1 Startup

1.0 Contract. The contract with the Department of Interior was signed at the last minute before
spending preauthorization ran out. Now that the contract is signed we are working on a budget
modification proposal (see 3).

1.1.1 Hiring

Neuropsych Postdoc. The Neuroscience Team advertised broadly for a postdoctoral

research fellow with multimodal neuroimaging experience. We received 12 applications
and ranked these in order to develop a set of three candidates for further consideration.
In the process of ranking these candidates our team was alerted to a postdoctoral student
at the City College in New York (Jacek Dmochowsi, Ph.D.) who was actively searching
for a new position. Because his experience and qualifications so greatly exceeded the
others in the pool we closed the search and pursued a targeted hire of Jacek as an
Assistant Research Professor. Unfortunately he declined our offer so we are still
searching for this position.

Persuasion Postdoc. The Persuasion Team advertised broadly for a postdoctoral research
fellow with expertise in narrative persuasion. We received 14 applications. We offered
the position to Douglas Deiss from ASU. He accepted and started work on June 27.

Narrative Team. Hiring of two half-time graduate research assistants and four quarter-
time undergraduate student workers and creative director consultant, is complete.

Graduate Research Assistants. We have hired three graduate research assistants, to

support the neuropsych, narrative, and persuasion teams, respectively.

1.1.2 Design Experiments. The entire grant team has held six day-long to half-day meetings
devoted in part to design of the experiments. Discussions have focused on modifying the design
to accommodate an additional “neutral” religious group, and how to marry the neurological
measurements with the persuasion measurements in order to minimize measurement fatigue or
response sets on the part of the subjects.

1.1.3 Human Subjects. We prepared and submitted the first of two IRB applications to ASU. The
first covers research to guide development of our stimulus videos. It was approved by ASU with
exempt status. It has since been submitted to MRMC for secondary review and we are awaiting
the outcome. We are preparing the second IRB submission, to cover the neuropsychology and
persuasion experiments. This is a more complex application that will require approval also by
BNI, and that we expect will not have exempt status.
Task 1.2 Design Narrative Stimuli

Initial story development involved researching mutually exclusive Christian and Muslim master
narratives, developing local narrative scenarios, and conceptualizing how the videos fit into the
overall experimental design. Primary (2 each) and alternate (1 each) master narratives for each
cultural tradition have been selected, allowing local narrative story development to proceed.
Furthermore, details about the interrelationship of individual videos (episodic, serialized, entirely
independent) have been resolved.

3. Results or Problems and Solutions

a) Budget & contract. Per discussion with the PO team at the Jackson Hole conference, we
intend to request a budget modification. This would include plus-up funds for better EEG
equipment, additional salary for the neuropsych ARP position, and funds to add additional
subjects from a neutral religion (Hindu) to the design. In addition some technical changes are
needed in the existing contract. We plan to submit a revision proposal before the end of July.
b) Hiring. Jacek’s recruiting and eventual decline of our offer put us behind our desired progress
for hiring the neuropsych position. We have re-advertised the assistant research professor job
and expanded distribution of the job add to relevant engineering outlets.
c) Human subjects.
i) The second human subjects application is more complex because it will have to be
approved in primary review by two institutions (ASU and BNI). It will also have to seek
approval for simultaneous fMRI/EEG analysis which carries risks of burns caused by
electrodes. We are seeking input from manufacturers of the planned EEG system on best
practices that can be used before we complete applications to the local IRBs.
ii) MRMC secondary review timeline remains unknown, and therefore is a threat to the
project schedule. We will soon be ready to do some pretesting on the stimulus materials
and will be unable to do so until our application is approved.
d) Stimulus materials development
i) Mutually Exclusive Master Narratives. Since the experimental design calls for
manipulation of vertical integration between the local narratives presented in the videos
and pre-existing cultural narratives known by the subject population, selecting
appropriate cultural master narratives to serve as templates for the local narratives is
crucial. Furthermore, the master narratives drawn from Muslim and Christian cultures
must be mutually exclusive so that the experimental design can yield differential results.
Identifying mutually exclusive master narratives requires a two-step solution, the first of
which was accomplished in this reporting period. Consultation with CSC scholars with
expertise in religious narratives identified a candidate pool of master narratives from
Muslim and Christian traditions that should prove mutually exclusive. The second step is
a confirmatory step of analysis of audience response through beta-testing the stories with
a sample subject population, to be conducted in July-Sep reporting period.
ii) Persuasion fatigue. During story development and conceptualization, a potential problem
was identified with regard to the persuasion outcomes study of the local narratives in the
scanner. As originally conceived, the experimental design called for a behavioral action
measure following each video. However, in consultations between the Narrative Team
and the Persuasion Team, concern that persuasion fatigue (artificial answers induced by
the excessive repetition of behavioral action questions) would negatively affect the data.
The solution is to group the videos in sets of three that share a common thematic link.
Each group of three stories will be followed by a single behavioral action measure,
reducing the number of these questions from 18 (one per video) to 6 (one per set of three)
 maintaining the number of iterations required for fMRI/EEG signal, but mitigating the
potential for persuasion fatigue.

4. Significant Accomplishments Anticipated During Next Reporting Period

1) Revised budget submitted and accepted

2) Neuropsych ARP hired
3) First human subjects application received secondary approval
4) Second human subjects application submitted
5) Comprehensive review of narrative persuasion literature completed
6) All stories developed and videos scripted
7) Representative sample of videos pre-tested with sample subject pool:
a) Confirm mutual exclusivity of master narratives
b) Confirm comprehension of local narratives
c) Confirm emotional/aesthetic resonance of videos
8) Production style determined (live action, stills with animatics, line art animation, etc.)
9) Pre-production complete
10) Production of videos initiated
11) EEG system evaluated and safety-checked on site at BNI
12) EEG system selected and purchased
13) EEF/fMRI calibration and pretesting plan in place

5. Publications (relevant effort)

N/A

6. Meetings and Events (please include meetings with subcontractors if applicable)

 Jackson Hole kickoff meeting – April 12-13, 2012

 Routine staff/team meetings
 Subcontractor (St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center) meeting – April 6, 2012 and April
20, 2012

7. Other

N/A