In three intriguing experiments into what shapes voter perceptions in the 2004 presidential election between Kerry and Bush, researchers took photos of the candidates, as well as photos of the study participants, and subtly “morphed” the candidates to look a little more like the participants.

They made the effect subtle enough so that you wouldn’t be able to detect something had been done to the photo. They then asked which candidate the participant would vote for. The results?

Those who looked at the real photos said they would vote for Bush over Kerry by 46 to 44 percent, predicting the same two-point spread that marked Bush’s victory in the actual election.

When the other groups examined the morphed photos, the gap grew markedly.

Those who had their photos combined with Bush gave the Republican a 13-point victory, while those blended with Kerry gave the Democrat a 7-point advantage.

Now keep in mind, this was a randomized group, so nothing between the different groups was markedly different in terms of political preferences. The only thing that changed was a photo that looked more like the participant!

I’m not sure how much this really plays out in the real world, since few of us look like any given presidential candidate. But this research is not surprising, given previous research that found that friends and family are more likely to find similar faces more attractive.

It reasonably follows that if we find a candidate’s face similar to ours (or our friends’ or family’s faces), we might find them more attractive and hence be more likely to vote for them.

Which would be a shame, because it also suggests that voters may be as easily swayed by physical looks as they are by the important issues. And while physical looks may arguably be a component of what makes a good leader, it certainly should not be the deciding factor.

Read the full news article: We Vote For People Who Look Like Us

Dr. John Grohol is the CEO and founder of Psych Central. He is an author, researcher and expert in mental health online, and has been writing about online behavior, mental health and psychology issues -- as well as the intersection of technology and human behavior -- since 1992. Dr. Grohol sits on the editorial board of the journal Cyberpsychology, Behavior and Social Networking and is a founding board member and treasurer of the Society for Participatory Medicine.

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    Last reviewed: By John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on 23 Oct 2008
    Published on PsychCentral.com. All rights reserved.