Skip to Main Content
HBS Home
  • About
  • Academic Programs
  • Alumni
  • Faculty & Research
  • Baker Library
  • Giving
  • Harvard Business Review
  • Initiatives
  • News
  • Recruit
  • Map / Directions
Faculty & Research
  • Faculty
  • Research
  • Featured Topics
  • Academic Units
  • …→
  • Harvard Business School→
  • Faculty & Research→
Publications
Publications
  • 2023
  • Working Paper
  • HBS Working Paper Series

Change We Can’t Believe In: Distrust of Political Converts

By: Julian J. Zlatev, Amos Schurr and Nir Halevy
  • Format:Print
  • | Language:English
  • | Pages:34
ShareBar

Abstract

We propose and test three hypotheses regarding how people respond to political converts— individuals who switch their voting from one political party to another. Across two experiments, using behavioral and attitudinal measures of trust in two different countries, we find evidence that people simultaneously trust in-party members more than out-party members and party maintainers more than party switchers (i.e., political converts). We additionally find that this increased trust in party maintainers holds when evaluating just out-party members or just in-party members independently. Finally, we find inconsistent evidence that these results are moderated by ideology. We discuss implications of this work for intergroup relations, polarization, and impression formation.

Keywords

Political Elections; Behavior; Attitudes; Trust

Citation

Zlatev, Julian J., Amos Schurr, and Nir Halevy. "Change We Can’t Believe In: Distrust of Political Converts." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 23-049, February 2023.
  • Read Now

About The Author

Julian J. Zlatev

Negotiation, Organizations & Markets
→More Publications

More from the Authors

    • March 2023
    • Faculty Research

    Río Curicó Teaching Note: Video Short I

    By: Kathleen L. McGinn and Julian Zlatev
    • February 2023
    • Faculty Research

    SIMmersion: Simulating Crucial Conversations

    By: Alison Wood Brooks and Julian Zlatev
    • 2023
    • Faculty Research

    Sending Signals: Strategic Displays of Warmth and Competence

    By: Bushra S. Guenoun and Julian J. Zlatev
More from the Authors
  • Río Curicó Teaching Note: Video Short I By: Kathleen L. McGinn and Julian Zlatev
  • SIMmersion: Simulating Crucial Conversations By: Alison Wood Brooks and Julian Zlatev
  • Sending Signals: Strategic Displays of Warmth and Competence By: Bushra S. Guenoun and Julian J. Zlatev
ǁ
Campus Map
Harvard Business School
Soldiers Field
Boston, MA 02163
→Map & Directions
→More Contact Information
  • Make a Gift
  • Site Map
  • Jobs
  • Harvard University
  • Trademarks
  • Policies
  • Accessibility
  • Digital Accessibility
Copyright © President & Fellows of Harvard College