Bah, bah black sheep, have you any political pull?

Abstract

This study examined the Black Sheep Effect and its underlying causes in the context of political groups. 128 participants read a mock news article describing politicians in both the Republican and Democratic parties who had failed to cast their votes in sessions of congress. Participants provided lower approval ratings for ingroup black sheep politicians than for outgroup politicians indicating that the Black Sheep Effect does occur within political groups. However, hypotheses regarding the causes of this effect in political groups were not supported by the results. Implications of the Black Sheep Effect on political issues such as congressional gridlock and voter behavior are discussed.