Babyface look not for politicians

It's cute on some, but babyface look not for politicians: study
at 15:21 on June 9, 2005, EST.

WASHINGTON (AP) - Babyface is ideal for cooing infants, or as a nickname for singer-songwriter-producer Kenny Edmonds. For politicians, though, it's often a losing look.

Researchers have found that voters frequently pick the candidates with more mature looks, exuding competence, over those who have certain features - round face, big eyes, small nose, high forehead, small chin - in other words, a babyface.

Every election, campaigns spend millions on advertising that features photographs of smiling candidates. A study in Friday's issue of the journal Science suggests that if the politician has cheeks worth pinching, the effort may be a lost cause.

"We show that inferences of competence, based solely on the facial appearance of political candidates and with no prior knowledge about the person, predict the outcomes of elections for the U.S. Congress," the scientists wrote.

They found that a quick look at a candidate's photograph - a one-second exposure - created an initial impression that often lasted through the more deliberative process that helps a voter decide.

Competence was an overriding trait, and the politician perceived that way, even based only on looks, left a lasting impression.

Psychologist Alexander Todorov of Princeton University had volunteers look at black-white photographs of House and Senate winners and losers from elections in 2000 and 2002, and the competing candidates prior to the 2004 contests. The faces had to be unknown to the participants; images of senators Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.), John McCain (R-Ariz.) and John Kerry D-Mass.), for example, were immediately eliminated.

"It was just on facial appearance, it could not be influenced by any other information," Todorov said in an interview.

The study found that the candidate perceived as more competent was the winner in 72 per cent of the Senate races and 67 per cent of the House races.

In one example, participants in the study looked at photographs of Senator Russell Feingold (D-Wis.) and his Republican challenger in 2004, Tim Michels.

Viewers considered Feingold's face more mature; their initial impression of Michels was babyface. Last November, Feingold won re-election with 55 per cent of the vote to 44 per cent for Michels.

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