Elected in 100 milliseconds: Appearance-based trait inferences and voting

Christopher Y. Olivola; Alexander T. Todorov

doi:10.1007/s10919-009-0082-1

Elected in 100 milliseconds: Appearance-based trait inferences and voting

Christopher Y. Olivola, Alexander T. Todorov

Research output: Contribution to journal › Review article › peer-review

244 Scopus citations

Abstract

Recent research has shown that rapid judgments about the personality traits of political candidates, based solely on their appearance, can predict their electoral success. This suggests that voters rely heavily on appearances when choosing which candidate to elect. Here we review this literature and examine the determinants of the relationship between appearance-based trait inferences and voting. We also reanalyze previous data to show that facial competence is a highly robust and specific predictor of political preferences. Finally, we introduce a computer model of face-based competence judgments, which we use to derive some of the facial features associated with these judgments.

Original language	English (US)
Pages (from-to)	83-110
Number of pages	28
Journal	Journal of Nonverbal Behavior
Volume	34
Issue number	2
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1007/s10919-009-0082-1
State	Published - Jan 25 2010

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

Social Psychology

Keywords

Face perception
First impressions
Political decision making
Social cognition
Voting

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