

Appearances Matter: Inferences of Competence from Faces Predict Election - GFischer
http://www.science20.com/news_account/picking_election_winner_by_appearance_accurate_70_percent_of_the_time

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GFischer
Paper here:

<http://www.sciencemag.org/content/308/5728/1623.short>

Abstract:

"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. "

Original article where I found this study, about first impressions:

[http://www.forbes.com/sites/yec/2011/11/02/5-ways-to-
make-a-...](http://www.forbes.com/sites/yec/2011/11/02/5-ways-to-make-a-
killer-first-impression/)

