Before the series of “Great Debates” between Senator John Kennedy of Massachusetts and Vice President Richard Nixon in the 1960 Presidential election were televised around the world, the concept of a politician’s ‘image’ having an effect on the public’s perceptions of them was of little concern to their staff. It’s interesting to note that those who listened to the debate on the radio were of the sentiment that Nixon won. Those who witnessed the young, vibrant Kennedy on television however, overwhelmingly saw him as the winner.
The debates were held ten days ago, on Sept. 26, in the year 1960. On the 49th anniversary of the debates this year, the Christian Science Monitor posted the original newspaper article from the start of the debates on their Web site. How have candidates’ presentations to the public changed since then? And how are voters judging politicians?
With the gender-diverse candidates in the 2008 election, The Public Library of Science conducted a study published under the title of “The Political Gender Gap: Gender Bias in Facial Inferences that Predict Voting Behavior” and found that voters actually do care about what the candidates look like. The survey examined men and women voters rankings of candidates competency, dominance, attractiveness and approachability based only on the candidates’ facial appearances. The research found interesting results on which factors influence male and female voters depending on the gender of the candidate they’re judging. For men, a more attractive female candidate would be more likely to get their vote, while women were drawn to more approachable male candidates.
It seems like candidates these days must always be camera-ready, looking their best. One blogger observed the 2009 general elections in Indonesia and harped upon the narcissim of the candidates plastering their posters all over the city.
Poster in Indonesia
Still, a study by Bailenson, Illinyengar, Yee and Coseople found that voters lean toward candidates that look like themselves!
Tyler Allen's Blog 