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Why Politicians Won't Apologize:Communication Effects in the Aftermath of Sex Scandals
Hamrak, Bence Simonovits, Gabor Rusnak, Alex Szucs, Ferenc
Hamrak, Bence
Simonovits, Gabor
Rusnak, Alex
Szucs, Ferenc
Title / Series / Name
British Journal of Political Science
Publication Volume
54
Publication Issue
4
Pages
Editors
Keywords
electoral accountability
political communication
political scandals
survey experiment
political communication
political scandals
survey experiment
Files
URI
https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14018/27385
Abstract
A startling feature of the countless recent sex scandals involving politicians has been the almost complete lack of public apologies. This note explores the electoral incentives politicians face when crafting communication strategies in the aftermath of sex scandals. We focus on two communication strategies – denials and apologies – and assess their impact on incumbent support across a wide range of scandals that vary in terms of the seriousness of the charges as well as the availability of evidence. Using data from a series of survey experiments, including over 10,000 respondents we find that citizens punish incumbents who apologize, even in the case of accusations that appear the least serious in the eyes of voters. Moreover, apologies fail to generate political support compared to denials, even in cases when voters are exposed to evidence. This suggests that in most cases apologies are simply not politically viable communication strategies.
Topic
Publisher
Place of Publication
Type
Journal article
Date
2024-10-01
Language
ISBN
Identifiers
10.1017/S0007123424000292