Abstract The way public figures react to criticism can influence perceptions of and trust in them. We tested whether politicians who openly accepted criticism were perceived as more moral and warmer (i.e., more communal) and were trusted more than politicians who rejected criticism. Using fictitious politicians, Experiments 1–3 showed the expected positive effect of accepting criticism on communion and trust, moderated neither by the politician’s party affiliation (Experiment 2) nor by attacked dimension (competence or morality; Experiment 3, preregistered). With a front-runner in an upcoming election as target, Experiment 4 replicated the positive effect, but only for participants with a political orientation matching the politician’s affiliation. Taken together, acknowledging mistakes can be an effective impression management strategy for public figures.

中文翻译：

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接受批评能否成为公众人物有效的印象管理策略？与否认和反击的比较

摘要 公众人物对批评的反应方式会影响对他们的看法和信任。我们测试了公开接受批评的政客是否被认为比拒绝批评的政客更道德、更热情（即，更具公共性）并且更受信任。使用虚构的政治家，实验 1-3 显示了接受批评对交流和信任的预期积极影响，既不受政治家的政党隶属关系（实验 2）也不受攻击维度（能力或道德；实验 3，预注册）的影响。以即将到来的选举中的领先者为目标，实验 4 复制了积极的影响，但仅适用于政治取向与政治家的隶属关系相匹配的参与者。综合起来，