Same message, same content but everything changes depending on who said it

A study by Tel Aviv University found that the political identity of who delivers emergency instructions affects the degree of confidence in them, even when the content of the instructions themselves remains identical.

A study from Tel Aviv University, conducted about three months after the outbreak of the 'Swords of Iron' war, examined how the political identity of who delivers emergency instructions affects confidence in them. The study included 856 Israelis over age 18, who were randomly divided into groups and received an identical bulletin with instructions for household emergency preparedness. The only difference between the groups was the identity of the entity to which the bulletin was attributed: the Prime Minister, the Defense Minister or Home Front Command, a professional body that is not identified with a political party. Participants then reported on their willingness to follow the instructions.

According to the report, the assessment of the content of the message itself remained almost stable between the groups, and participants did not similarly change their opinion on the quality of the professional instructions. The significant change occurred in the degree of confidence that participants felt toward the person who delivered the instructions. Prof. Bodas said: 'This is a response that occurs at the level of confidence in the source, not at the level of factual judgment of the information itself,' and added: 'That is precisely why it is so problematic: it does not depend on the quality of the information, but on the identity of who delivers it.'

To date, much of the research on political polarization and responsiveness to authorities has addressed issues that are disputed, such as economic policy, foreign relations or political and judicial reforms. According to the researchers, the current study examined specifically instructions for emergency preparedness in the midst of an active military conflict, a situation in which one could have expected that the common need for defense and survival would reduce the weight of political differences.

According to the researchers, the more a speaker is identified with a particular political camp, the more his identity can harm confidence in him among other parts of the public, even when the message itself is professional and not political, and from this could derive an advantage in transmitting life-saving information through professional bodies that are not identified with a political party. Prof. Bodas said: 'You can agree with the message, and at the same time lose confidence in the messenger. In emergency situations, where public confidence is one of the central conditions for effective communication between authorities and citizens, this distinction could be of real importance.'