We show that inferences of competence based solely on facial appearance predicted the outcomes of U.S. congressional elections better than chance (e.g., 68.8% of the Senate races in 2004) and also were linearly related to the margin of victory. These inferences were specific to competence and occurred within a 1-second exposure to the faces of the candidates. The findings suggest that rapid, unreflective trait inferences can contribute to voting choices, which are widely assumed to be based primarily on rational and deliberative considerations.
The abstract from a study in Science on facial evaluation by psychologists Alexander Todorov, Anesu N. Mandisodza, Amir Goren and Crystal C. Hall
In honor of of the anon who yesterday asked me who I’m voting for which reminded me of this work which everyone should be familiar with. You would be hard pressed to find a more horrifying effect of human irrationality.
