Conservatives are more reluctant to give and receive apologies than liberals

Hornsey, M.J.; Schumann, K.; Bain, P.G.; Blumen, S.; Chen, S.X.; Gómez, Á; González, R.; Guan, Y.; Kashima, E.; Lebedeva, N.; Wohl, M.J.A.

Abstract

This article examines the proposition that conservatives will be less willing than liberals to apologize and less likely to forgive after receiving an apology. In Study 1, we found evidence for both relationships in a nine-nation survey. In Study 2, participants wrote an open-ended response to a victim of a hypothetical transgression they had committed. More conservative participants were less likely to include apologetic elements in their response. We also tested two underlying mechanisms for the associations: social dominance orientation (SDO) and entity beliefs about human nature. SDO emerged as a stronger and more consistent mediator than entity beliefs. Apologies are theorized to be a rhetorical vehicle for removing power inequities in relationships posttransgression. Consistent with this theorizing, it was those who are relatively high in commitment to equality (i.e., those high in liberal ideology and low in SDO) who are most likely to provide and reward apologies.

Citation

Hornsey, M., Schumann, K., Bain, P., Blumen, S., Chen, S., Gómez, A., …Wohl, M. (2017). Conservatives are more reluctant to give and receive apologies than liberals. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 8(7), 827-835. https://doi.org/10.1177/1948550617691096

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Dec 8, 2016
• Online Publication Date: Feb 28, 2017
• Publication Date: Sep 1, 2017
• Deposit Date: Mar 21, 2017
• Publicly Available Date: Mar 22, 2017
• Journal: Social Psychological and Personality Science
• Print ISSN: 1948-5506
• Electronic ISSN: 1948-5514
• Publisher: SAGE Publications
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 8
• Issue: 7
• Pages: 827-835
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1948550617691096
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1361761