Sorry, Not Sorry: Examining Public Responses to Political Apologies

• In Event: Government Trust, Trauma, and Scandal

Brief Overview

Using a series of large-scale online vignette experiments, we examine the effectiveness of different response strategies (e.g., apologize, deny, defend, or ignore) in restoring politicians’ reputations following a scandal.

Authors

• Nicole E Wilson, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

• Chloe Wittenberg, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

• Adam J. Berinsky, Massachusetts Institute of Technology