147-186

Scandal-plagued, or Scandal-proof the role of candidate personality traits as scandal immunity factors

Αφιέρωμα στα Μέσα Μαζικής Ενημέρωσης

• Καπέλου, Τερέζα

In this paper, I am interested in the following question: why do some public figures survive and others succumb to the effects of a scandal? Results from two experiments suggest that a political actor’s personality traits -characteristics such as competence and integrity- can offset the potentially damaging effects of a political scandal. The experiments reported here were designed to test the effects of candidate traits on scandal immunity for a male and a female politician. A candidate’s competence and honesty are varied and then participants read about his/her involvement in an illegal financial kickback scheme or a disclosure scandal. Findings lend support to the initial hypothesis that competent candidates weather the scandal somewhat better than incompetent candidates, regardless of how damaging the scandal is. While honesty does not operate as a protective shield from the negative impact of a strong scandal, it can offer scandal immunity, similarly to competence, in the case of a mild scandal. While the effects of a mild scandal are not different for male or female candidates, the ratings of the male candidate drop more sharply than those of the female candidate after the severe scandal. Men are punished more severely for their involvement in a severe scandal because it is easier to stereotype them as typical self-serving politicians.

• Political Science
• Media and communications

• Πολιτική επιστήμη
• Μέσα Μαζικής Ενημέρωσης