To be as Palikot? Controversy as a dimension of politician᾿s perception

The studies explored the impact of being a controversial politician on his/her perception and electoral chances. In three studies carried out on student samples we examined factors modifying this impact. In Study 1 (N = 120) both the politician᾿s and the voter᾿s political orientation was taken into account. In Study 2 (N = 137) the politician᾿s party identification was included. In Study 3 (N = 120) the politician᾿s gender was taken into account. Results revealed that being controversial decreased evaluation of a politician on the dimension of morality but did not influence the evaluation of competence. Controversiality of the politician was appreciated by left-wing voters and increased willingness to vote for the left-wing parties. Party identification of the controversial politician was unrelated to his/her evaluation. Controversiality influenced evaluation of a women politician only in a limited way, controversial women were perceived as more amiable and less moral but it did not influence her electoral chances. peerReviewed publishedVersion