Donald Trump’s presidency included many transgressive behaviors which were rationalized by his followers. A study published in the Journal of Applied Social Psychology explores the roles of group prototypicality and identity advancement in how supporters downplayed and accepted Trumps harmful behaviors.
People in political leadership have a lot of power and have the potential to greatly affect the social, economic, and social state of the country and even the entire world. When leaders partake in transgressive behavior that violates social, moral, or legal norms, the consequences can be grave. Unfortunately, leaders like Donald Trump can maintain support from their base despite their harmful behaviors.
Previous research supports this and shows leniency from their followers. This study seeks to further this research by understanding the roles of identity advancement and group prototypicality in this leniency.
Identity advancement refers to the belief that a politician “stands up for Americans, acts as a champion for Americans, promotes the interests of Americans, and has the best interests of Americans at heart.” Group prototypicality, on the other hand, refers to the belief that a politician “represents what is characteristic of Americans, is typical of Americans, and stands for what Americans have in common.”
Researcher Ben Davies and his colleagues utilized a longitudinal study that employed 3 waves. Wave 1 occurred a week before the 2020 election, wave 2 occurred 2 days after the initial wave, and wave 3 occurred the day after Joe Biden’s inauguration. Wave 1 included 200 Republicans, wave 2 retained 175 participants, and wave 3 retained 102 participants. Wave 1 assessed initial perceptions of Trump, demographics, prototypicality, and identity advancement. Wave 2 assessed the perceived ethicalness of transgressive behavior when committed by Trump or not committed by Trump. Wave 3 assessed prototypicality and identity advancement following Trump leaving office and being replaced by Biden.
Results showed that Republicans downplayed Trump’s unethical behavior, but this was related to his identity advancement and not related to his group prototypicality. Trump losing the election did not increase his follower’s beliefs that he behaved unethically or decrease their perception of his group prototypicality or identity advancement. Additionally, participants did perceive Trump’s behavior as less unethical than the same behaviors in a neutral subject. This was significant for all 3 behaviors studied including nepotism, sharing of false information, and abuse of power.
“The extent to which group members downplay the transgressive behavior of their leader has worrying implications for leadership,” the researchers said. “Ultimately, it appears that devout followers are willing to explain away even the most serious breaches of law and morality by their leaders. As the US Capitol riots illustrate, the rationalization of a leader’s transgressive behavior and continued support for them can culminate in serious attacks on democracy and social order.”
This study made important progress in understanding how base followers justify and interpret transgressive behavior. Despite this, it has limitations. This study focuses solely on Donald Trump, a very controversial politician. Arguably, there has never been a more divisive president in the United States. These results would potentially not generalize using a different politician. Additionally, very salient events occurred between waves 2 and 3, including the Capitol riots and attempt to overturn the election, which is difficult to control for.
“As well as addressing these limitations, future studies should also explore how to mitigate the support of transgressive leaders, and how their behavior can be reframed in a way that minimizes its downplaying among supporters,” the researchers said. “One potential avenue is to explore how de-platforming such transgressive leaders limits their ability to reframe their behavior in a desired light.”
The study, “Donald Trump and the rationalization of transgressive behavior: The role of group prototypicality and identity advancement“, was authored by Ben Davies, Carola Leicht, and Dominic Abrams.