Blame, Public Consultations, and the Impact of Gender

Can public consultations reduce the blame attributed to elected representatives whose decisions end up backfiring? Using two pre-registered survey experiments fielded in the US, this chapter examines whether blame attribution and generation may be shaped by: (1) consultation characteristics, especially regarding whether or not representatives align their policies, either actively or passively, with constituent opinion; and (2) elected representative and constituent characteristics, especially regarding a representative's gender and constituents' gender attitudes. The results suggest that public consultations are indeed liable to decrease blame, just so long as constituent opinion is not explicitly opposed to the representative's decision. Active alignment with constituent opinion, however, does not appear to be a requirement for decreased blame-and effects related to gender are also largely absent. These findings are important for scholars seeking to better understand blame attribution and generation, clarifying how public consultations might help politicians to pre-empt blame by reducing clarity of responsibility.