The Perks of Being a Flip-Flopper: Examining Evaluations of Politicians Who Change Their Position Due to Scientific Evidence

When politicians are swayed by scientific evidence, are they met with admiration or skepticism? U.S. college students and Prolific panelists ( N = 1,213) rated six vignettes in a 2 (politician’s action: maintain original position vs. change position) × 3 (alignment with participant’s position: aligned vs. misaligned vs. control) within-subjects design. Politicians who changed their position were judged as more flip-floppy, but also warmer and more competent compared to those who maintained their stance. In addition, politicians who changed their stance elicited stronger voting intentions than those who maintained their stance. When the final stance of the politician was misaligned (vs. aligned) with the participant’s own position, these advantages attenuated or reversed. These results shed light on ways that heeding scientific evidence can impact how politicians are viewed.