No es el qué, es el quién: la importancia del líder para la aceptación del mensaje

Ismael Crespo Martínez; Alberto Mora Rodríguez; José Miguel Rojo Martínez

doi:10.4185/rlcs-2025-2354

Authors

Ismael Crespo Martínez University of Murcia https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2600-8839
Alberto Mora Rodríguez University of Murcia https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2247-6846
José Miguel Rojo Martínez University of Murcia https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9491-4839

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.4185/rlcs-2025-2354

Keywords:

leader, message, sender, political communication, Spain, elections, survey experiment

Abstract

Introduction: In a context of increasing personalization of politics, the influence of leaders on communicative processes is increasingly prominent. However, we do not have much evidence comparing the effects of the senders and of the topics of the message on the reactions of audiences. Therefore, the present research seeks to test whether the levels of support or rejection of a message are influenced by who its sender is. Methodology: A survey experiment was designed with a total of 719 participants from the panel of the Centro de Estudios Murciano de Opinión Pública (CEMOP). Data collection began on July 9, 2023 and ended on July 21, 2023, in the middle of the electoral campaign for the general elections held in Spain. The participants were randomly divided into four groups and had to show their levels of support or rejection to a message presented in the form of a text-vignette, changing the sender depending on the group. Results: The findings point to the existence of a singular leadership, that of Santiago Abascal, which has the capacity to influence the responses of individuals even when he does not emit positional messages. Abascal's presence as a sender influences the responses, regardless of the issue at hand or the attitudes and characteristics of the participants. A "negative personalism" effect is observed, according to which certain individuals only need to know who is defending something in order to reject a message. Discussion: Political leaders can introduce significant biases that condition citizens' responses to the messages issued, regardless of the specific thematic content of the messages. This allows us to reflect on the relationships between leadership and polarization, as well as to attend to the conditioning factors of the success of communication processes. Conclusions: The results of this research have important implications for understanding the positions of voters in the face of the messages

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Author Biographies

Ismael Crespo Martínez, University of Murcia

Professor of Political Science. Director of the Department of Political Science, Public Finance and Social Anthropology of the University of Murcia. Co-director of the Centro de Estudios Murciano de Opinión Pública (CEMOP) and Director of the magazine Más Poder Local. PI of the Transfer Group LABCOM ("Laboratorio de Comunicación Política") of the University of Murcia. PI of the Research Project "POLARIZA" of the Seneca Foundation, Science and Technology Agency of the Region of Murcia (Project Ref.: 21876/PI/22).

Alberto Mora Rodríguez, University of Murcia

PhD in Political Science and Public Administration from the University of Murcia with Extraordinary Doctorate Award. Specialist in Applied Social Research and Data Analysis by the Center for Sociological Research (CIS). Permanent Professor of Political Science at the University of Murcia. Technical Director of the Centro de Estudios Murciano de Opinión Pública (CEMOP). Editor of the magazine Más Poder Local.

José Miguel Rojo Martínez, University of Murcia

FPU Fellow of the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities. Graduate in Political Science and Public Management with Final Degree Award, Graduate in Sociology and Master in Applied Political Analysis. He has been a Graduate Fellow at the Center for Sociological Research (CIS) and visiting researcher at Stanford University (spring 2023).

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