creating a political image: shaping appearance and manipulating the vote

Political Behavior, Vol. 13, No. 4, 1991

CREATING A POLITICAL IMAGE: Shaping Appearance and Manipulating the Vote

Shawn W. Rosenberg, Shulamit Kahn, and Thuy Tran

The key question addressed is whether political consultants can shape a candidate's appearance in such a way as to influence voters' preferences. To explore this question, an attempt was made to discover the components of a favorable political image and then use that information to manipulate voters" preferences. Photographs of over 200 women were analyzed and the features of the women's appearance which affected the quality of the image projected were isolated. Using this information, a make-up artist and photographer were employed to shape the appearance of six women. Photographs of the women were then placed on campaign flyers along with information on the women's political party affiliation and their position on several key issues. Pairs of flyers were used to create mock elections. The result of these elections sugge-~t that it is possible to shape a political candidate's image in a way which may effect electoral outcomes. The implications of this for electoral politics are discussed.

INTRODUCTION In the era of te levis ion polit ics, ever g rea te r a t tent ion is be ing pa id to

the images poli t ical candida tes pro jec t and the poss ible impac t they may have on e lec tora l outcomes. In the Un i t ed States, commenta to r s speak of Ronald Reagan as the "grea t communica tor" and scrut inize the appearance and style of the bevy of candida tes who cur ren t ly aspire to poli t ical office. Nor is this s imply an Amer ican p h e n o m e n o n - - a p roduc t of a te levis ion society wi th low levels of in te res t in politics. In Britain, a count ry no ted for its d e e p poli t ical divisions, much newspr in t has been de vo t e d to Thatcher ' s use of "power dress ing" to achieve a new and more forceful look and to Kinnock 's success in giving the Labor pa r ty a youthful and more energe t i c

Shawn W. Rosenburg, Graduate Concentration in Political Psychology, School of Social Sciences, University of California, Irvine, California 92717. Shulamit Kahn, Grsduate School of Business, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts 02215. Thuy Tran, University of Cali- fornia, Irvine, California 92717.

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0190-9320/91/1200-0345506.50/0 © 1991 Plenum Publishing Corporation

346 ROSENBERG, KAHN, AND TRAN

image. Indeed, the concern with image has spread as far as Greece and Japan. In Greece, the conservative New Democratic Party has turned to a New York based consulting group to help improve the image of its lacklus- ter leader, Mitsotakis. In Japan, political consultants and advertisers are involved with leaders of both major parties.

Throughout the modern democracies, there is concern regarding the in- creasing influence wielded by professional image brokers and the growing dominance of image over substance. These developments are seen as threats to the democratic process. The image brokers' influence is seen to be a new obstacle to the open dialogue that should exist between leaders and citizens. ]'he dominance of image over substance raises questions regarding the adequacy of the grounds upon which voters make their choices. The concern here is that image manipulation both re-directs the voters' attention away from issues to candidates and at the same time prevents the voters from seeing the candidates as they truly are.

The research on voting behavior provides indirect evidence that these concerns are valid ones. Traditionally, voters' preferences have been explained in terms of their ideological position, their political party affiliation, and their assessment of the candidates' personal qualities. A host of research has demonstrated that voters' ideological positions are less coherent and have less effect than initially anticipated (Converse, 1964; Sullivan, Pierson, and Marcus, 1978; Bishop, Hamilton, and McConahay 1980) and that their party affiliation is declining (Wattenberg, 1984). As a result, in- creasing attention has been paid to voters' perceptions of the candidates themselves. The resulting research suggests that the voters" decisions are importantly influenced by their assessment of the candidates' character (Kelly and Mirer, 1974; Markus and Converse, 1979) and that this assessment centers on such job-related qualities as the candidates' competence and trustworthiness (Kinder and Abelson, 1981; Miller, Wattenberg, and Malanchuk, 1986).

Although perceptions of the candidates are clearly an important contrib- utor to electoral outcomes, relatively little is known about the source of those perceptions. In particular, little attention has been paid to the impact of a candidate's appearance on the image he or she projects. Apart from popular assumption, there is a considerable body of research on nonverbal communication which suggests that a candidate's appearance may- affect his or her image in a way which influences voters' choices. Speaking to the more general issue of person perception, social psychologists have offered a wealth of evidence documenting the impact of various nonverbal cues on the inferences people make regarding one another's character and inten- tions (for a good review, see Mehrabian, 1981).

Two types of theoretical explanations have been offered to account for

CREATING A POLITICAL IMAGE 347

the effect of a person's appearance on others' judgments. One type focuses on basic psychological processes underlying person perception. A recent example of this first type is offered by Berry and McArthur (1986). They suggest the effect of appearance on person perception is the result of over- generalizing interpretations of facial features which are normally adaptive. Following Gibson's (1979) ecological theory of perception, they suggest that "a person's directly perceptible attributes--movements, vocal qualities, and facial appearance--provide useful knowledge about the person's be- havioral propensities." The example Berry and McArthur are most interested in is that of the adult reactions to a "baby face." They suggest that it is adaptive for the individual and the species that people perceive babies to be vulnerable, naive, and open to nurturing. The problem arises when this normally adaptive response is extended to adults who have features sugges- tive of that of a baby. In their research, they have shown that baby-faced adults are seen as more honest, warmer, more submissive, physically weaker, and more naive than other adults (McArthur and Apatow, 1983/ 1984; Berry and McArthur, 1985).

Complementing this emphasis on universal features of human cognition, other work has focused on the eflbet of culture on how appearance and behavior are perceived. The guiding theoretical view here is that the rules for the direction and interpretation of nonverbal cues are socially defined. Research adopting this approach has demonstrated that these rules vary significantly across cultures or subcultures. A good example is Erickson's research on the ways that inner city Blacks and middle class Whites use their eyes in conversation (Erickson, 1979). He found that Black speakers look continually at the listener and Black listeners tend to look down and away most of the time. If either party violates the rule, inferences are made. If the speaker looks infrequently at the listener, the listener assumes the speaker is not interested in the conversation. If the listener looks directly at the speaker, the speaker assumes the listener is either offering a challenge or attempting to increase the level of intimacy depending on the circumstances. In contrast, Erickson found that White speakers look only occasionally at the listener and White listeners look continually at the speaker. Again, inferences are made when the rule is violated. If the speaker looks continually at the listener, the listener will assume either that the speaker is being aggressive or intimate depending on the circumstances. If the listener looks only infrequently at the speaker, the speaker will assume that the listener is disinterested and withdrawn. The consequences of these differences for cross-cultural person perception are clear and dramatic. Consider the case of a White conversing with a Black where both parties are intend{ng to be polite and attentive. When the White is talking to the Black, both speaker and listener are looking at each other


infrequently. Both will regard the other as disinterested and withdrawn. When the Black is talking to the White, the Black will be staring at the White and the White will be staring right back. In most situations, each will regard the other as hostile. Beeanse the rules of nonverbal behavior vary across the two groups, the inferences drawn are inappropriate.

Recently, a number of studies have drawn on the research on nonverbal eornrnunieation to consider its impact on polities, Roger Masters, Denis Sullivan, and their colleagues have done a number of interesting studies of the impact of facial gestures on an andienees' emotional response to political leaders and candidates (Hugo, Lanzetta, Sullivan, Masters, and Englis, 1985; Sullivan and Masters, 1988; Masters and Sullivan, 1989). Their work clearly establishes that faeial gestures have an impact on viewers' emotional responses and their feelings about the person being observed.

Other research has focused on visual appearance more broadly and as- sessed its impact directly on the vote. In two studies, Rosenberg and his colleagues presented subjeets with photographs of the kind that might be used in campaign materials and examined their impact on impression for- mation and vote ehoiee (Rosenberg, Bohan, McCafferty, and Harris, 1986; Rosenberg and McCafferty, 1987). In a first study, two preliminaD' questions were addressed: (1) Does a political candidate's appearance project a distinct image of his or her character and fitness for public office? (2) Does this image have an impact on voters' preferences? To answer these questions, subjects were asked to examine photographs of 20 men and then assess their eornpetenee, trustworthiness, likability, leadership quality, physical attractiveness, and political demeanor. Two other groups then voted in a series of mock elections in whieh they were presented with pairs of campaign flyers. Each flyer presented the picture, party affiliation, and issue positions of one of the competing candidates. The results of the study indicate that even a single photograph yields a distinct image of a candidate's eornpetence, integrity, and fitness for public office. Moreover, the results provide elear evidence that the images produced in this way exercise a significant and independent effect on electoral outcomes.

Buidling on the finding that a candidate's physical appearance does affect voters' preferences, the second study examined whether the same candidate could be presented in sufficiently different ways so as to alter the image he or she projects. Speeifieally, two further questions were posed: (1) Can different photographs of the same person produce significant differ- enees in the image projected? (2) Are these differences large enough to affect voters' preferences when presented in the context of information on candidates' party affiliation and issue positions? To address these questions, a number of different photographs were taken of each of four men. Having no knowledge of the components of a favorable political image, the re-


searchers simply followed their intuition and varied the poses each man adopted. Subjects were then asked to asses the photographs. The results indicated that different photographs of the same individual could produce differences in the image projected. Favorably mad unfavorably regarded photographs of each man were then placed on campaign flyers and presented to a new group of subjects. The results suggest that different pictures of the same individual can affect his popularity among the voters even when his political party and issue positions remain unchanged.

In combination, these two studies suggest that politically relevant images can be projected by a candidate's physical appearance and that differences in image can affect electoral outcomes. Several key questions, however, remain unanswered: Is it possible to determine what are the specific aspects of a candidate's appearance which affect voters' impressions? And armed with this information, is it possible to alter a candidate's appearance in order to shape the image projected and thereby influence electoral outcomes? In the research presented here, we offer a first exploration of these questions. Specifically, we attempt to discover whether it is possible to target a group of people, discover the kind of image which is most attractive to them, and then shape how candidates are presented in a way which influences their vote. In so doing, we speak to the very heart of the issue regarding the ability (or potential) of image brokers to manipulate voters' prei~rences.

STUDY ONE: THE COMPONENTS OF A FAVORABLE POLITICAL IMAGE

Our aim here is to identify those elements of the visual presentation of a political candidate which contribute to the projection of a favorable political image. The research focuses on photographs of the kind a candidate might use for distribution to the media or on campaign posters and flyers. Tile possible impact of such factors as the facial features of the candidate, the pose adopted, the clothing worn, and the background used is explored. With the research on cultural differences in mind, we target one particular voting population, university students.

Method Subjects

Two hundred and ten students at a large California public university participated in the study. Forty-one percent of the students were male. Approximately 52% of the students were Caucasian, 27% were Asian. The remaining 21% were predominantly Black and Hispanic. The average age of the students was 19.


Stimulus Materials

Two hundred and ten photographs of women were evaluated. All the women were Caucasian and all photographs were "head and shoulders" shots. Apart from this, however, the photographs varied widely. The women ranged in age from 19-65, wore clothing which varied from quite casual to very formal, adopted a number of different poses, and were pic- tured against a variety of backgrounds. All the photographs were printed in black and white to the size of 8" x 10".

The photographs were evaluated by two raters along 29 different dimensions. These included the facial features of the women photographed, the nature of the clothing they wore, the manner in which they posed, and the qualities of the background in which they were photographed. Where raters disagreed, they adjudicated among themselves. The facial features evaluated were: the overall shape of the face, the thickness, curliness, length, part, and general styling of the hair, the shape of the hairline, the size of the forehead, the curvature, the roundness, and the visibility of the eye, the droopiness of the upper eyelid, the shape, the darkness, and the thickness of the eyebrows, the height of the cheekbones, the thickness of the lips, the angularity of the jaw, and the shape of the chin. An overall evaluation was also made regarding apparent age. The women's attire was judged according to its formality, its color, and the jewelry worn. Poses were judged along the following lines: the degree of smiling, the direction faced, and the tilt of the head. Finally, the backgrounds in which the women were photographed were evaluated according to the location, the color, and the texture. For a more detailed discussion of the coding of the photographs, see the Appendix.

Procedure

Subjects were tested in groups of eight to ten. Each subject was seated at a table and presented with a packet of 15 photographs. Photographs were randomly assigned to packets. All subjects were told that they were participating in a study of people's physical appearance. They were then informed that they would be viewing a number of photographs and would be asked to report their initial impressions of what the people photographed were like. Following this brief introduction, subjects were asked to open the packet in front of them and evaluate each woman along four dimensions: physical attractiveness, competence, trustworthiness, and political demeanor. To assist, subjects were provided with guiding questions. For example, in the case of trustworthiness, the question was "Is this the kind of person you would trust to do a job honestly?" They were told to record their impression by circling the appropriate number on a 1-7 scale


on the answer sheet provided. The order in which individual subjects made these evaluations was randomized.

Results

The first question to be addressed is to what extent can the variance in the image projected by a candidate's photographic appearance be explained with reference to the specific elements of the photograph we analyzed. The key dependent variable here is political demeanor. (This demeanor variable refers to the extent to which a person looks like a political leader. This was operationalized quite simply through the question "Is this the kind of person you would want to represent you in the U.S. House of Representa- tives?") Using a least square regression analysis, 10% of the variance in political demeanor was explained with reference to the elements of the photographic presentation. While a statistically significant result (at the .01 level), it was somewhat disappointing. In our view, this is due in part to the crudeness of our measures and our failure to consider any special gestalt or combinatorial effects. Further analysis indicated that the result was also a function of the fact that the photographs had a different impact on the different subpopulations of the subjects we examined. When the size of the coefficients were allowed to vary across race and sex groups, a more respectable 20% of the variance was explained.

The second question to be addressed is what features of the photographic presentation of a candidate significantly affect the image she projects. De- spite the relative low proportion of the overall variance explained, the analysis indicates that 13 of the 29 dimensions of the photographic image analyzed had a significant impact (p<.05). The results of the analysis are presented in the first column of Table 1. There we see that the following facial features contribute to a more ~avorable political demeanor: (1) eyes which have an almond shape or where more of the curvature is on the top rather than on the bottom, (2) a hairline which comes to a slight widow's peak, (3) hair which is combed back or with a side part, (4) hair which is cut short, and (5) an overall .face which is broad or round. More generally, women who appeared to be older were evaluated more positively. It is also apparent that an appropriate pose can affect the image one projects. Smil- ing helps create a more attractive political image. The clothing a woman wears also has a clear impact on the image she projects. For the most part, it appears that formal, conservative dress is preferred by our subject population. Suits and formal blouses have a more favorable impact than less formal dress, simple contrasts or white is preferred to dark or patterned outfits, and necklaces and earrings create a more positive political image than no jewelry at all. Finally, the background in which the woman is


T A B L E 1. E f f e c t o f F a c i a l F e a t u r e s , D r e s s , a n d P r e s e n t a t i o n o n W o m e n ' s

P e r c e i v e d P o | i t i e a l D e m e a n o r , C o m p e t e n c e , H o n e s t y , a n d P h y s i c a l

A t t r a c t i v e n e s s

Poli t ical

Cha rac t e r i s t i c d e m e a n o r C o m p e t e n c e T r u s t w o r t h i n e s s At t r ac t iveness

E y e

S h a p e (D = lower curve)

U p p e r c u r v e .40 ~ .18 ~ .53 c - - T r i a n g u l a r .42 c .25 b .61 c .25 ~

A l m o n d .43 c .21 b .42 c .24 b

O p e n i n g ( round to oblong) . . . . ,178

Visibil i ty (dark to clear) . . . .

Eye l i d d r o o p (marke d to none) - - - - - - .27 C

E y e b r o w

O r i e n t a t i o n (D = A-shape)

S t r a igh t . . . .

V- shape . . . .

D a r k n e s s (dark to l ight) - - - - - - ,228

Th ickness ( thick to thin) - - - - .10 ~ - -

Mou th : L ips ( thick to th in) - - .09 ~ - - - . 2 9 c

Fac ia l f ea tu res

F o r e h e a d (large to small) . . . .

J aw (angu la r to r o u n d e d ) . . . .

C h i n (po in ted to b road) - - .07 ° - - - -

C h e e k b o n e s (high to fiat) . . . . .25 c

F a c e s h a p e (b road to long) - . l08 - - - . 0 8 a ,088

Ha i r

Ha i r l i ne (D = h e a v y bangs)

V-shape .24 a - - - - - -

S t r a igh t . . . .

A - s hape . . . .

L igh t b a n g s . . . .

Body (d = thin), (thick) . . . .

F o r m (cur ly to s t ra ight ) . . . . L e n g t h ( long to shor t ) .148 .11 b - - - ,21 ¢

Pa r t (D = s ide par t )

Pu l l ed b a c k / n o pa r t . . . . M i d d l e p a r t - . 2 7 b - - - - - . , 5 5 c

Style ( toward face a n d ears) U p - - - ,32 b - - - .518

A w a y f rom face a n d ears . . . . Age (young to old) . ].3 c .058 - - - . 2 4 ~

Pose Smile (big smile to f rown) - . 0 8 8 - - - . 2 6 c - . 0 8 b

H e a d tilt (none to some) . . . .

H e a d t u r n (some to none) . . . .


T A B L E 1. (Continued)

Political Characteristic demeanor Competence Trustworthiness Attractiveness

Photo features Background texture

D = fiat Texture - , 1 9 b - . 0 9 ~ - - - -

Background color D = black Grey . . . . White . . . . Lo contrast .19 ~ - - - - - - Hi contrast ,24 a .25 b - - - -

Location (D = studio) Indoor - .32 ~ - .28 ~ - - - - Outdoor . . . .

Clothing Style (formal to informal) - . 19 ¢ - . 0 9 b - - - -

Color (D = black) Grey . . . . White .24 c . i2 a .22 c .3 lC Dark pattern - - - - .22 a - - Light pattern - - - - .23 b - - Contrasting .24 b - - - - - -

Jewelry (D = none) Earrings .20 b .18 c - - .20 b Necklace .52 b .39 b - - - - Earrings and necklace .44 c .27 ~ - - .31 ~

aSignificant at the . i0 level. bSignificant at the .05 level. cSignifieant at the .01 level.

p h o t o g r a p h e d a l so h a s a n e f f ec t . T o o u r s u r p r i s e , w e f o u n d t h a t a s t u d i o

b a c k g r o u n d h a d a s i g n i f i c a n t l y m o r e f a v o r a b l e e f f e c t t h a n an i n d o o r o n e ,

e . g . , a n o f f i ce o r l i b r a r y b a c k g r o u n d . W e a l so f o u n d t h a t f la t b a c k g r o u n d s

w i t h c o n t r a s t i n g a c c e n t s o f d a r k g r e y s a n d w h i t e s (an e f f e c t c o m m o n l y c r e -

a t e d in a s t u d i o p o r t r a i t ) a l so c o n t r i b u t e to a m o r e p o s i t i v e i m a g e .

T h e q u e s t i o n o f e x p l a i n i n g p o l i t i c a l d e m e a n o r m a y b e a d d r e s s e d in o t h e r

t e r m s . R a t h e r t h a n f o c u s i n g d i r e c t l y o n p a r t i c u l a r f e a t u r e s o f a v i s u a l p r e s -

e n t a t i o n , m o r e g e n e r a l i m p r e s s i o n s m a y b e c o n s i d e r e d . I n t h i s l i g h t , w e

e x a m i n e d t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p b e t w e e n e v a l u a t i o n s o f p o l i t i c a l d e m e a n o r a n d

r a t i n g s o f c o m p e t e n c e , t r u s t w o r t h i n e s s , a n d p h y s i c a l a t t r a c t i v e n e s s . T h e

r e s u l t s o f a m u l t i p l e r e g r e s s i o n a n a l y s i s i n d i c a t e t h a t c o m p e t e n c e h a d a

s i g n i f i c a n t a n d s t r o n g e f f e c t ( b = . 5 7 3 , p < . 0 1 ) as d i d t r u s t w o r t h i n e s s

( b = . 2 9 3 , p < . 0 1 ) . P h y s i c a l a t t r a c t i v e n e s s , h o w e v e r , d i d n o t h a v e a s ign i f i -


cant effect (b= .004). These results are reinforced by a comparison of the particular features which significantly affected political demeanor ratings with those which affected ratings of competence, trustworthiness, and physical attractiveness. Table 1 lists the coefficients of those variables which significantly affect ratings of competence, trustworthiness, physical attractiveness, mad political demeanor. Nine of the 12 factors which significantly affected competence ratings and four of the five factors which significantly affected trustworthiness ratings also had significant effect on ratings of political demeanor. There were no instances of factors affecting perceived competence or perceived trustworthiness having a significant and opposite effect on political demeanor. This suggests a close relationship between assessments of competence and trust on the one hand and political demeanor on the other. The case of physical attractiveness is different. Only five of the 14 variables which significantly affected perceived physical attractiveness ratings also had a significant effect on ratings of political demeanor. Moreover, there were three instances where factors affecting perceived attractiveness had a significant and opposite effect on political demeanor.

Brief note should be made here regarding the effect of the sex and eth- nieity of the viewer on the impact of a photographic presentation on the political image projected. Examining the responses of each ethnic/sex group separately, regression analyses were done to assess the effects of the various features of the photographic presentations on the political demeanor ratings made by each group. The results suggest that members of the different ethnic/sex groups are often influenced by different features of the photograph they are observing. For example, the shape of a woman's jaw importantly affects white males' judgments of her political demeanor, but does not significantly affect the judgment of any of the other ethnic/sex groups. Similarly, the thickness of a woman's eyebrows affects the judgments of white females, but not the judgments of the members of any other group. The key point for the present research is that despite these differences, there is no evidence that any of the features we analyzed had significantly opposite effects on the members of different groups. This suggests that it is reasonable to suppose we can shape a candidate's image in a way which improves her popularity with all the groups included in our target population.

Discussion

Our results indicate that, for a given population of voters, it is possible to isolate those dimensions of a photographic presentation which affect the


political image projected. Certain facial features, ways of posing, clothing, and backgrounds do contribute to or detract from a candidate's political demeanor. Our results also shed light on the relationship between ratings of political demeanor and ratings of competence, trustworthiness, and physical attractiveness. Consistent with earlier research on male candidates (Rosenberg et al,, 1986; Rosenberg and McCafferty, 1987) and with other studies of the character traits desired of political leaders (Kinder and Abel- son, 1981; Miller et al., 1986), we found that perceived competence and trustworthiness contributed significantly to the overall political image a candidate projects. Also consistent with this earlier work, we found that physical attractiveness does not affect political image. This last finding runs counter to some of the research on nonverbal communication which provides evidence of generally bivariate relationships between physical attractiveness and a number of desirable personality traits (see, for example, Berscheid and Walster, 1974).

Pursuing this issue further, we examined the constituents of political demeanor and those of competence, trustworthiness, and physical attractiveness more closely. We found considerable overlap and no opposition between the factors which contributed to a positive political image and those which contributed to either perceived competence or trustworthiness. In the case of physical attractiveness, however, we found less overlap and several factors had significant and opposite effects on political demeanor. Longer faces, longer hair, and a more youthful appearance increased physical attractiveness, but detracted from a woman's political image. Thus, we have further evidence that whereas perceived competence and trustworthiness are closely related to political demeanor, physical attractiveness is not. Our conclusions regarding the contribution of physical attractiveness to political demeanor receive some support from research conducted by Sigel- man, Sigelman, and Fowler (1987). In an interesting study of the effect of physical attractiveness on voters' preferences, they found no significant di- rect relationship between attractiveness and people's vote.

Finally, it is important to note that the political image projected by a photograph of a woman varied with the viewing audience. Allowing for ethnic and sex differences among those rating the photographs, we were able to account for nearly twice the overall variance in ratings of political demeanor. This result is consistent with the research on cross-cultural differences in the decoding of nonverbal cues (Masters and Sullivan, 1989). An examination of the particular features of the photographic presentation which affected the political demeanor ratings of the particular ethnic/sex groups also indicates that members of the different groups are often influenced by different features. However, it is important to note that there was


no evidence of features having opposing effects on members of different groups. Thus, it should be possible to create a composite look which con- veys a positive political image to all groups of voters.

STUDY TWO: CREATING AN IMAGE

In the first study, we identified those specific elements of a visual presentation which contribute to the projection of a favorable political image. In this context, it is important to remember that these elements were found to contribute significantly in only a statistical sense. Moreover, the overall variance in image explained by all the elements was quite small, The question remains therefore whether the results of the foregoing analysis can be used et~ctively to shape a political candidate's image and thereby influence electoral outcomes. To examine this question directly, we conducted a second study in which we employed a Hollywood make-up artist to prepare a number of women along the lines suggested by the first study. The women were then photographed. Their pictures were evaluated and then placed on campaign flyers. Subjects drawn from the same general population as those involved in the first study then voted for the candidates of their preference.

Methods

Subjects

Eighty undergraduates participated in the first phase of the study. Two hundred and twenty-six participated in the second phase, The age and eth- nicity of the subjects were comparable to those of the subjects who participated in the first study.

Stimulus Materials"

Twelve photographs, two pictures of each of six women, were used. The women were all active professionals, caucasian and between the ages of 30- 55. Each woman was photographed twice, once in a favorable condition (positive political image) and once in an unfavorable condition (negative political image). To assist in the preparation and photographing of the women, a professional make-up artist and a photographer were employed. The definition of favorable and unfavorable image was based on the results of the first study. Features significantly related to perceived competence and trustworthiness as well as political demeanor were used to guide the preparation and photographing of the women.

To create a favorable image, the artist was given the following instruc-


tions: make the overall face appear broader, emphasize the curvature of the upper eyelid, make the eyes brighter and more visible, make the eyebrows thinner, thin the lips, broaden the chin, shorten the hair, alter the hairline so that it came to a slight point, comb the hair straight back or with a side part, and work on skin texture to increase apparent age. To the same end, the women themselves were instructed to smile, to wear a white formal blouse or a suit jacket and blouse, and to wear a simple necklace and earrings. Additionally, the photographer was told to shoot the women using a fiat, studio backdrop, and to light the backdrop in order to give it contrasting tones. Essentially, opposite instructions were used to create an unfavorable image. Thus, the make-up artist was asked to create the following effects: a longer, narrower face, greater curvature of the lower eyelid, darker, more shadowed eyes, thicker eyebrows, thicker lips, more pointed chin, longer hair, comb the hair to create bangs, part the hair in middle, and a skin texture which made the woman appear younger. The women were instructed not to smile, to wear an informal patterned blouse and not to wear jewelry. Finally, the photographer was asked to shoot the women using an indoor, dark, textured background.

It is important to note that not all the manipulations could be achieved in all cases. In a few cases, aspects of a woman's appearance created obstacles which could not be overcome given the limited time or funds available. For example, it was not possible to lengthen the hair of women with short hair. In a few other cases, the women refused to comply with certain of the manipulations despite the repeated requests and explanations of the experi- menter. Overall, however, most of the manipulations were successfully achieved.

The photographs of six of the women were then used in the construction of campaign flyers. The flyers were printed on magazine quality, 8 1/2' × 11' paper. A 4' × 5' photograph of the candidate appeared in the upper right hand quadrant. A letter (A,B,C, etc.) identifying the candidate, her party affiliation (Republican or Democrat) and the office for which she was running (U. S. House of Representatives) appeared in the upper left quadrant. Three brief statements of her views on three issues, e.g., American involvement in Central America, expenditure on education, and urban planning in southern California, were presented on the bottom half of the flyer. The statements were designed so that positions reflected a consis- tently moderate liberal or moderate conservative point of view.

The flyers were arranged in pairs thereby creating three different electoral contests. Each pair was prepared so that there was an appropriate opposition of a Democrat and a Republican, and a liberal and a conservative. In addition, two versions of each pair of flyers were created. In one version, the first flyer was presented using a photograph of one candidate


presented favorably and the second was presented using a photograph of the other candidate presented unfavorably. In the second version, the first flyer included an unfavorable photograph of the candidate and the second included a favorable one. Thus, the photographic presention of the candidates was varied, but their party affiliation and issue positions were held constant.

Procedu re

In the first phase of the study, 80 subjects simply evaluated the photographs. Each subject was presented with a packet of six photographs pre- senting some of the women in a favorable way and the remaining women in an unfavorable way. (Using different combinations of favorable and unfavorable presentations, four packets were created). Subjects were then given introductory instructions similar to those provided in the first study. They were told that they were being asked to report their initial impressions of six different women, all of whom were leading contenders for their party's nomination for 1988 congressional races in the southern California area. They were then asked to lay out the six pictures in front of them and then order them from who they would like most to least to represent them in the U.S. House of Representatives. They were then instructed to record their responses on the answer sheet provided.

In the second phase of the study, a new group of subjects were presented with packets containing two campaign flyers for each of three elections. Approximately half the subjects saw one version of each of the elections, the remainder saw the other version. As in the first phase, subjects were told that they would be viewing the campaign materials of several women who were currently regarded as leading contenders for their party's nomination to the U.S. House of Representatives in several Califor- nia congressional districts. They were then asked to examine the flyers of the first pair of candidates and record their vote for .the candidate of their choice. Having done so, they were then instructed to do the same for each of the remaining three pairs.

Results

The first phase of the study was designed to check the success of our manipulation of the six women's political image. Our analysis of the ratings of the women indicate that the manipulation was successful. On average, different preparations of the same woman produced a difference in rankings of 2.25 points on the 6-point scale. In all six cases, the difference in the mean scores for the two different presentations of the same woman were statistically significant at least at the .05 level.

CREATING A POLITICAL IMAGE

TABLE 2. Effect of Image Manipulation on the Vote

359

Presentation of the candidate Vote received

First election Candidate A Candidate B

Candidate A favorable/candidate B unfavorable 67 49 Candidate A unfavorable/candidate B favorable 48 62

X 2 = 4.55 ~

Second election Candidate C Candidate D

Candidate C favorable/candidate D unfavorable 69 46 Candidate C unfavorable/candidate D favorable 47 63

X 2 = 6.72 b

Third election Candidate E Candidate F

Candidate E favorable/candidate F unfavorable Candidate E unfavorable/candidate F favorable

Favorable presentation Unfavorable presentation

X 2 = 11.15 b

74 43 63 48

X 2 = 1.00

Total

383 296

aSignificant at the .05 level. bSignifieant at the .01 level.

The results of the second phase of the study, the assessment of the effect of appearance on the popularity of candidates in a mock election, are presented in Table 2. The results indicate a strong and consistent effect of our manipulation of the women's appearance on the electoral outcomes. The results suggest a significant difference (p<.01) in the popularity of the women in the direction anticipated in two of the three elections. In the third election, the effect was in the appropriate direction, the popularity of the candidate increased when she was presented favorably, but the effect was not significant. Overall, candidates presented favorably received 56% of the vote, compared to 44% when presented unfavorably.

Discussion

The second study provides strong support for the hy~pothesis that it is possible to shape a woman's political image to either her advantage or her detriment. Drawing on the results of the first study, we were able to systematically enhance br diminish the political demeanor of each of our six


"candidates," Moreover, this manipulation of their political image did have a significant effect on electoral outcomes. In two of the three elections, enhancing the image of one candidate while diminishing the image of the other reversed the final outcome. This was true even though subjects had clear information on the candidates' party affiliation and their positions on the most significant domestic and foreign policy issues of the day.

When considering this research, it is important to recognize its limitations, Most critical is the use of artificial elections--ones which lacked the social context and duration of real campaigns. It may well be that in a real campaign, consultants are less able to control the candidate's contact with the public thereby reducing their influence. In addition, voters may be presented with a variety of types and sources of information thereby reducing the impact of a candidate's appearance or style.

In this context, it is worth noting several points which suggest that our conclusions regarding the potential for effective image control are not un- warranted. First, an attempt was made to reduce the artificiality of the elections. The experiments were conducted during the time when public attention was already focused on the presidential elections and subjects were told that the women they were judging were candidates intending to enter the primaries in their respective districts. Post-experimental interviews indicated that the subjects took the task seriously. Second, while the laboratory setting may have eliminated important social influences thereby' enhancing the effect of image on the vote, the experiment was designed in such a way that this image effect may have actually been underestimated. On the one hand, the candidate was presented through the media of a photograph rather than through a video presentation. It is quite probable that the latter would have yielded a stronger impression, one which would be held with greater confidence and consequence by the voter. On the other hand, the voter was presented with clear information on the candidate's issue positions at the time of the vote. This should have unre- alistically enhanced the issue effect and commensurately diminished the image effect on voters' choices. Third, although it is certainly true that consultants managing a real campaign have less control over the presentation of the candidate than we did, it is also important not to underestimate what control they may exercise, particularly in congressional and local elections where there is less media scrutiny. They may choose which photographs of the candidate will be distributed for use by the media and which will be used for campaign flyers and posters. They can also decide the number and format of speeches and press conferences.

The methodological concerns raised here are classic components of the argument regarding the relative merits of experimental and field studies. Our study of political image-making was experimental with all the well-


known advantages and disadvantages of adopting such a design. The analysis of images and their effect is a complex, difficult task, and we felt that the initial research in this area required greater control over the relevant variables. Future research is needed to complement the present effort by exploring the effects of image control in the context of real and ongoing political campaigns.

A second concern regarding possible limitations of the study which may be raised revolves around the use of a voting population comprised only of students. Two points are important here. First, other research which exam- ines the effect of image on the vote of both university and non-university populations found comparable effects (Rosenberg et al., 1986; Rosenberg and McCafferty, 1987). Second and more important, the aim of the study was to show the potential for shaping a candidate's image with an eye to influencing voters' preferences. In our research, we targeted students, as- sessed those aspects of appearance which affected their evaluation of a candidate, and then examined whether we could use this information to influence their vote. We were successful. There is no reason to assume political consultants would be any less successful following such a procedure with any other constituency group they may decide to target.

A final concern is that of studying only a female candidates. There are two issues here: (1) that women comprise only a small proportion of tile total field of electoral candidates, and (2) that while appearance may affect the success of female candidates, this phenomenon may not generalize to male candidates. With regard to the first point, it should be noted that women are involved in the political process in significant numbers and the level of their involvement is likely to increase in the future. Thus, they remain an interesting group of candidates to study. It is certainly true, however, that the field of political candidates is overwhelmingly male and thus tile second point is an important one. Here, we remind the reader that most of the studies done on the effect of image on the vote have used only male candidates. In particular, the study of Rosenberg and McCafl~rty (1987) clearly demonstrates that a male candidate's image can be changed in a way which affects his electoral success. Consequently, there is no reason to assume that our success in systematically manipulating appearance to affect voters' preferences is limited only to female political candidates.

OONOLUDING REMARKS

Our aim study was to explore the possibility of image brokers having a significant impact on elections. This raised two questions: (1) Is it possible to assess systematically what features of a candidate's appearance and style positively or negatively affect the image he or she projects? (2) Can this


information then be used to influence the choice voters make at the polling booth? The research reported here suggests that the preliminary answer to both questions is yes.

To assess the potential for determining the components of an attractive political demeanor, the photographs of a highly varied sample of over 200 women were evaluated by naive subjects and then analyzed in some depth. Analyzing the additive effect of various dimensions of the photographs, we were able to account for approximately 20% of the variance in the quality of the image projected. When considering this figure, it should be remem- bered that our measures of the various visual dimensions of the photographs were relatively crude and no attempt was made to account for any gestalt or combinatorial effects. Nonetheless, we were able to isolate a number of the features of a woman's facial features, dress and photographic background which significantly affected the quality of her political image. With more time, money, and effort, it seems quite probable that much more regarding the impact of appearance on image could be discovered.

To assess the potential for manipulating candidates' images in a way which can affect the vote, an attempt was made to shape several candidates" appearance along the lines suggested by our analysis of the photographs. Six women were made-up, styled, dressed, and photographed accordingly. Their pictures were then printed on campaign flyers together with information regarding the candidates" political party a~liation and position on several of the most salient issues of the day. Even in the context of this expressly political information, our manipulation of the candidates' photographic presentation had a significant effect. In fact, changes in the presentation of tile competing candidates actually led to reversals in two of the three elections.

The research reported here reinforces present concerns regarding the role of image in elections and the possibility of political image brokers having an undue impact on electoral outcomes. Placed in the context of other work on candidate evaluation and voting behavior, it suggests that voters are not making choices on the basis of appropriate information on the candidates and the issues. This in turn raises questions about the electoral process itself and the degree to which it serves its intended representative function. Considerable research has been devoted to documenting the problem. More attention must now be paid to the investigation of possible educational or electoral reforms which may be initiated in order to solve it.

APPENDIX

Coding of Photographs

The coding of the various dimensions of the photographs was done in two ways. In the case of a number of the dimensions, pre-testing indicated a


s imple , r e l i ab le o b s e rv a t i o n was poss ible . C o n s e q u e n t l y , in t hese cases, eva lua t ions w e r e m a d e b y a s ingle rater . T h e fo l lowing is a list of t he fea- t u re s ra ted in this m a n n e r . T h e i n fo rma t ion in b racke t s p rov ides t he cod ing s c h e m e for each fea ture .

1. Size of forehead: 1 = Large (hairline to eyebrow is equal to or more than 5/12 of hairline to point of chin). 2 = Medium (hairline to eyebrow is between 3/12 and 5/12 of hairline to eyebrow). 3 = Small (hairline is equal to or less than 3/12 of hairline to eyebrow).

2. Head tilt: 1 = 0 -5 Degree tilt. 2 = 6-15 Degree tilt. 3 = 16-25 Degree tilt. 4 = Over 25 degree tilt.

3. Head turn (direction facing): 1 = To the side (only one ear visible). 2 = Slight to the side (both ears visible, but one more than the other). 3 = Straight on (both ears equally visible).

4. Clothing style: 1 = Formal suit. 2 = Dress or formal blouse. 3 = Informal (sweater and blouse, sweater only, informal blouse). 4 = Very informal (country/levi/work clothing).

5. Clothing color: 1 = Solid black. 2 = Solid grey. 3 = Solid white. 4 = Dark pattern. 5 = Light pattern. 6 = Contrast pattern.

6. Background: 1 =Textured (varying depth or pattern to background). 2 = Flat (no depth, no pattern).

7. Location: 1 = Indoors. 2 = Outdoors. 3 = Studio,

8. Baekground color: 1 = Dark/black. 2 = Medium grey. 3 = Light/white. 4 = Low contrast. 5 = High contrast.


9. Jewelry: 1 = No visible jewelry. 2 = Earrings only. 3 = Necklace only. 4= Earrings and necklace.

For all the remaining dimensions of evaluation, the coding was done by two raters in the following manner. The raters were presented with a label and exemplar of each category of the dimension to be rated. They then made independen t judgments as to which category each of the photographs best fit. W h e r e there was disagreement, they ajudicated among themselves. The dimensions evaluated in this manner are as follows:

1. Eye shape: 1 = Greater curvature of upper eyelid. 2 = Upper lid has triangular shape. 3 = Almond shape, upper and lower eyelids of equal curvature. 4 = Greater curvature of lower eyelid.

2. Eye opening: 1 = Round. 2 = Medium. 3 = Oblong.

3. Eye visibility: 1 = Bright/clear. 2 = Medium. 3 = Dark/shadowed.

4. Eyelid droop: 1= Marked droop. 2 = Some droop. 3 = No droop.

5. Eyebrow orientation: 1 = Eyebrows form a V. 2 = Eyebrows straight across. 3 = Eyebrows form an A-shape.

6. Eyebrow darkness: 1 = Dark dense hair. 2 = Medium. 3 = Light patchy hair.

7. Eyebrow thickness: 1 = Thick/bushy. 2 = Medium. 3 = Thin/pencil.

8. Lips: 1 = Thick.


2 = M e d i u m . 3 = Thin .

9. Smile:

1 = Big, too thy grin. 2 = Smile , no t e e t h visible. 3 = H i n t o f smile . 4 = St ra ight l ips/no smile. 5 = F r o w n .

10. Jaw: 1 = Angular . 2 = M e d i u m . 3 = R o u n d e d .

11. Chin : 1 = Po in t ed . 2 = M e d i u m . 3 = Broad.

12. C h e e c k b o n e s :

1 -- H i g h / p r o n o u n c e d . 2 = M e d i u m . 3 = Flat .

13. Overa l l face shape: 1 = Broad / round , 2 = M e d i u m . 3 = Nar row/ long .

14, Hair l ine : 1 = V-shaped . 2 = St ra ight across.

3 = A- shaped . 4 = L igh t bangs .

5 = Hea~ T bangs . 15. Ha i r body:

1 = Thick. 2 = Thin.

16. Hai r form: 1 = Cur ly (t ight curls). 2 = W a v y (hair waves in and out at least twice). 3 = Straight .

17. Hai r l eng th : 1 = Long. 2 = M e d i u m . 3 = Short .

18. Hai r part : 1 = St ra ight back/no par t . 2 = M i d d l e part . 3 = Side part .


19. Hair style: 1 = Up.

2 = Away from face and ears. 3 = Toward face and ears.

20. Apparent age: 1 = Under 25. 2 = 26-35. 3 = 36-45. 4 = 46-55. 5 = 56-65. 6 = Over 65.

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creating a political image: shaping appearance and manipulating the vote

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