Perception and Decision Making: A Multi-Technique Analysis of Campaign Posters in the 2019 Bogotá Mayoral Election

Authors

  • Laura Nadal Universidad EAN, Colombia
  • Iria Bello Viruega Universitat de les Illes Balears, Spain
  • Neyla Pardo Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Colombia

Keywords:

decision making, voting, multimodal and multimedia critical discourse analysis, semiotics, politics, ideology, eye-tracking

Abstract

Campaign posters are semiotic-discursive resources that form multimodal units of meaning. In political communication, voters’ decision making is affected not only by the verbal message, but also by nonverbal indications or physical features (visual attributes) of the candidates. This study analyzed the relationship between visual communication and citizens’ voting decisions in a political campaign in Colombia. An analysis of campaign posters in the 2019 Bogotá mayoral elections was designed using a multi-technique methodology. First, two eye-tracking experiments were conducted to assess attention patterns. Then, a series of surveys measured emotions in slogans. It was concluded that, in the Colombian scene, visual elements related to candidates’ physical attributes have a small influence over voters’ decision making. This finding contradicts the results of studies carried out in different contexts, namely in Europe and the United States.

Author Biographies

Laura Nadal, Universidad EAN, Colombia

Associate Professor of Applied Linguistics, Traductology and Modern Languages

Iria Bello Viruega, Universitat de les Illes Balears, Spain

Associate Professor of Linguistics and Modern Languages

Neyla Pardo, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Colombia

Professor of Linguistics and Communication Science

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Published

2021-05-29

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Section

Articles