Neurocommunication and public relations for sustainability

Exploratory study of the museums of Puebla, Mexico

Abstract

In the last decade of the 21st century, the most vulnerable populations in the world have suffered the consequences of climate change, facing enormous risks: a 40% drop in agricultural yields that has generated food insecurity; nearly 100 million inhabitants who have needed assistance due to meteorological disasters; and, 24 million inhabitants of 140 countries who have suffered forced displacement due to climate alterations in their regions (Klein et al., 2014; FAO, 2022; UN-Habitat 2021). The United Nations, through its 2030 Agenda, has highlighted the importance of raising public awareness and mobilizing collective efforts towards sustainable development (UN, 2023). At the 2024 UN Assembly, a call was made to join forces and work together for a more sustainable future, inviting all social actors in the world to promote solutions with a focus on dialogue and social commitment (Guterres, 2024). In Mexico, initiatives aimed at biodiversity and human well-being do not resonate in society (ECLAC, 2020; CEIBA, 2023), therefore, it is necessary to strengthen the social and cultural capital that allows the construction of collective solutions to the global problems derived from climate change.

Museums, as custodians of humanity's cultural heritage, have the capacity to involve citizens in the solutions required by these global challenges, therefore, they must develop public relations strategies that generate: “a more participatory and committed relationship between cultural institutions and their audiences, favoring the symbolic appropriation of heritage” (Capriotti and Pardo Kuklinski, 2021, p. 97). This perspective turns museums into platforms that not only preserve, but communicate, mobilize and transform cultural heritage, aligning their function with the objectives of sustainable development. From this perspective, neurocommunication understood as the study of the processing, interpretation and reception of information (Ledesma and Fenger, 2016) offers a powerful way to achieve the symbolic appropriation of cultural heritage in museum visitors. This article explores elements of neurocommunication in visitors to museums in the municipality of Puebla in Mexico, to contribute to the development of their public relations strategies aimed at sustainability.

In this sense, from the perspective of neurocommunication (Ledesma and Fenger, 2016), the following research questions are posed: What are the cognitive elements experienced by visitors to the museums of the municipality of Puebla in Mexico?, and What are the behavioral elements experienced by visitors to the museums of the municipality of Puebla in Mexico? To this end, a quantitative exploratory study was carried out, which in the light of Hernández, Fernández and Baptista (2022) will allow us to identify neurocommunication patterns in museum visitors. The results in the cognitive dimension show a tendency for sensory, informative experiences and with an environment that minimizes distractions. Regarding the behavioral dimension, museum visitors state that they enjoy more an experience that allows them to participate in an active, reflective and emotional way. According to the results obtained, it is suggested to design public relations strategies that develop multisensory experiences, reflective community actions and the generation of emotional ties with their interest groups, in such a way that museums stop being contemplative spaces and become training platforms for social agents of sustainable development.