Event Title
Perception of Political Affiliations from Faces: Part Two
Presentation Type
Poster/Portfolio
Presenter Major(s)
Psychology
Mentor Information
Liang Lou
Department
Psychology
Location
Kirkhof Center KC7
Start Date
10-4-2013 9:00 AM
End Date
10-4-2013 10:00 AM
Keywords
Identity, Social Science, U.S. Diversity
Abstract
Head-shots of US senators will be presented to GVSU student participants, who will rate the faces on facial and personality characteristics and decide whether each face belongs to a democrat or a republican. Our previous studies found strong inter-rater agreement with regard to how certain characteristics (e.g., warmth) of the faces reveal political identities (e.g., democrats). However, there was no evidence for above-chance accuracy in perceiving political affiliations from faces alone, suggesting that the perception is influenced by participant biases. We predict that the present study will confirm those findings. In the second part of the present study, we will present pairs of photos of each of the senators, with each pair containing one smiling face and one with a serious facial expression. We predict that GVSU students, especially those leaning towards democrats, will perceive smiling faces, regardless of their actual political affiliations, to belong to democrats.
Perception of Political Affiliations from Faces: Part Two
Kirkhof Center KC7
Head-shots of US senators will be presented to GVSU student participants, who will rate the faces on facial and personality characteristics and decide whether each face belongs to a democrat or a republican. Our previous studies found strong inter-rater agreement with regard to how certain characteristics (e.g., warmth) of the faces reveal political identities (e.g., democrats). However, there was no evidence for above-chance accuracy in perceiving political affiliations from faces alone, suggesting that the perception is influenced by participant biases. We predict that the present study will confirm those findings. In the second part of the present study, we will present pairs of photos of each of the senators, with each pair containing one smiling face and one with a serious facial expression. We predict that GVSU students, especially those leaning towards democrats, will perceive smiling faces, regardless of their actual political affiliations, to belong to democrats.