Building Trust by Tearing Others Down: When Accusing Others of Unethical Behavior Engenders Trust

This paper explores the possibility that individuals can build trust by accusing others of unethical behavior. Across four experiments, we investigate when and why accusations boost trust in the accuser. Compared to individuals who did not make accusations, accusers engendered greater trust when observers perceived the accusation to be motivated by a desire to defend moral norms, rather than by a desire to advance ulterior motives. We also found that moral hypocrisy and the revealed veracity of the accusation moderated the trust benefits conferred to accusers. Taken together, we find that accusations have important interpersonal consequences. Not only do accusations harm targets, but they can also benefit accusers when accusations signal that the accuser has integrity.