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Emotional reactions to scandals: When does moral character make a difference?
Author(s) -
Jiang Jiang,
Kou Yu,
Wang Fang,
Wu Ying,
Li YanMei,
Li Yuan,
Yang Yiyin,
Cao Hui,
Wu Qiuping,
Jing ShiJie,
Jiang BiJing,
Shen LaMei,
Li AiJuan,
Li Zhongquan,
Gao Wenjun,
Chiu ChiYue,
Hong YingYi,
Hsu ShihChi,
Zhang Lin,
Yang BaoYan,
Yang XiaoLi,
Zhao DeLei,
Zou Zhimin,
Wei QingWang,
Chen Xia,
Zhao YuFang,
Zhou YiJin,
Chen Hong,
Feng Jianping,
Wang Xin
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
asian journal of social psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.5
H-Index - 49
eISSN - 1467-839X
pISSN - 1367-2223
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-839x.2011.01344.x
Subject(s) - outrage , morality , psychology , character (mathematics) , social psychology , representativeness heuristic , moral character , symbol (formal) , law , political science , philosophy , linguistics , geometry , mathematics , politics
A scandal can evoke public outrage when it is widely publicized and involves an individual who is perceived to have a high level of cultural representativeness. Two experiments showed that when the scandalous target's moral character was highlighted, emotional responses towards the target were least negative when the scandal was widely circulated and when the target was seen as a representative of his culture. These results suggest that when a cultural symbol is implicated in a widely‐circulated scandal, the negative emotions directed towards the scandalous individual can be alleviated when the public remains confident in his or her commitment to morality.