Surviving Scandal: An Exploration of the Immediate and Lasting Effects of Scandal on Candidate Evaluation

Objective. This study explores the immediate and long-term effects of scandal on candidate evaluation. Because scandals involve politicians behaving in ways inconsistent with prevailing moral standards, an immediate negative reaction to such information is largely unavoidable. However, the present study examines whether there are any long-term effects of scandal. Methods. Results from a longitudinal experiment are presented. The nature of the design facilitated the exploration of the immediate and lasting effects of exposure to scandal and the consistency of these effects across individuals. Results. Exposure to scandalous information about a candidate had an immediate negative effect on evaluation, but the magnitude of this negative effect declined over time, especially among the candidate’s supporters. Conclusion. This research suggests that understanding the effects of scandal requires distinguishing between immediate and long-term effects.