Thursday, August 28, 2008

People Trust Extreme Positions More

Extreme Appeal: Voters Trust Extreme Positions More Than Moderate Ones, Study Finds

ScienceDaily (2008-08-08) -- Trying to appear moderate is not always the best strategy for capturing votes during an election, reveals a new study. Extreme positions can build trust among an electorate, who value ideological commitment in times of uncertainty. "A rational electorate is reluctant to support someone who does not exhibit commitment to some ideology," says USC economist Juan Carrillo. "Voters rightly perceive that someone without ideological commitment cannot have developed a valuable political program." ... > read full article

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I guess more people didn't trust Sarah Palin's extreme positions!

spandrel said...

No -- quite the contrary... Both Sarah Palin and Plumber Joe received immediate, almost messianic, adulation for taking extreme positions against the "threatening" Democratic candidate. They didn't achieve broader support due to a lack of perceived competence.