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Why Beauty Matters: Candidates' Facial Appearance and Electoral Success

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  • ONO Yoshikuni
  • ASANO Masahiko

Abstract

Why do better-looking candidates gain more votes in elections? Existing research shows that candidates' facial appearance—perceived beauty, in particular—affects the fate of their election outcomes. Yet, little is known about the mechanisms by which the beauty of candidates creates a premium in elections. To solve this puzzle, we ran a survey that asked around 1,500 people to subjectively evaluate more than 400 real candidates' facial appearance, including beauty. We then conducted a survey experiment with about 3,000 people that explored the effects of candidate beauty on voter perceptions. Our findings demonstrate that neither candidates' facial expression nor the impressions they impart on the viewer, such as smiling, competence and trustworthiness, hinder the positive influence of perceived beauty of the candidates on election outcomes. We find that the beauty of the candidates attracts the attention of voters and alters voters' impressions of the candidates' prospects of winning the election, suggesting that voters' incentives to seek information and get on the bandwagon are driving them to support good-looking candidates.

Suggested Citation

  • ONO Yoshikuni & ASANO Masahiko, 2020. "Why Beauty Matters: Candidates' Facial Appearance and Electoral Success," Discussion papers 20072, Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI).
    • Handle: RePEc:eti:dpaper:20072
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    3. Gabriel S. Lenz & Chappell Lawson, 2011. "Looking the Part: Television Leads Less Informed Citizens to Vote Based on Candidates’ Appearance," American Journal of Political Science, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 55(3), pages 574-589, July.
    4. Lupia,Arthur & McCubbins,Mathew D., 1998. "The Democratic Dilemma," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521585934.
    5. Daniel Stockemer & Rodrigo Praino, 2015. "Blinded by Beauty? Physical Attractiveness and Candidate Selection in the U.S. House of Representatives," Social Science Quarterly, Southwestern Social Science Association, vol. 96(2), pages 430-443, June.
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