The Midday Open thread had a link to an article that just HAD to be clicked on.
•Can you tell if someone is a Democrat or a Republican, just by looking at them? Shockingly, a new study says that it may be possible to do just that
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Okay, if scientific evidence tells us who would win, why aren't we using it?
http://www.scientificamerican.com/...
To investigate the basis of these judgments, subjects were asked to rate photos of faces on a seven-point scale assessing personality traits such as assertiveness, maturity, likeability and trustworthiness. Subjects consistently associated Democrats with warmth (likeable and trustworthy) and Republicans with power (dominant and mature). These findings were independent of the gender of the person in the photo.
The study linked to a podcast (click on "faces" in the story at the above link)
Scientists took photos of the winner and the runner up from a 2002 election in France. They showed the two photos to people in Switzerland who hadn’t heard of either candidate. They asked—who do you think would be the most competent?
Well, most study participants chose the actual winner. Then it was time for the kids. More than 600 children played a game involving a computer-simulated boat trip. They were asked which person they’d prefer to captain the ship. And most of the kids also chose the actual election winner.
Study authors say they don’t know which specific facial cues kids and grown-ups are using to make their decisions. Voting is one of democracies most important civic duties. But for a lot of voters, it looks like it’s about liking looks.
I do not mean to suggest that we put up candidates who are air heads but look good just to pick a winner. I do suggest that when we have several candidates, we test them against the Republican opponent using the example given above.
Let's let the kiddies decide who they want to captain that ship. Okay, that's just too scary a thought.
So I ask you, how could we use this new knowledge? Certainly we don't want to discriminate on the basis of looks. We do, however, want to win races so shouldn't we attempt to incorporate this into our candidate choices? Marketing people are making the big bucks with their research, Luntz makes the big bucks for his "ideas". Who's going to take this research and run with it to the big bucks? Republicans?