The science of storytelling: How a well-told story can influence behavior by changing the brain's chemistry

Paul Zak is a professor of economics at the University of Pennsylvania, where he organized the first doctoral program in neuroeconomics, a new field that integrates neuroscience with economics.

Using a series of experiments than include brain scans and blood testing, he makes the case in this video for constructing stories along a specific arc:

1. Exposition
2. Rising action
3. Climax
4. Falling action
5. Denoument

This is the structure that gives a story the power to influence behavior.