Facial Features, Attractiveness, Conservatism, and Femininity of U.S. Congresswomen

Gabriela R. Brito

Jamie N. Glass

Terry F. Pettijohn II

Coastal Carolina University

Literature Review

Beauty at the Ballot Box (White, Kenrick, & Neuberg, 2013)

Desirability of Traits

Femininity Sex-Typical Features (Carpinella & Johnson, 2013)

Attractiveness Enhances perceptions of female candidates’ femininity

(Sigelman, Sigelman, & Fowler, 1987) Attractiveness Halo (Verhulst, Lodge, & Lavine, 2010)

Conservatism Image by conservatism (Rosenberg, Bohan, McCafferty,

& Harris, 1986)

Study 1: Facialmetric Data

Hypothesis U.S. congresswomen affiliated with the Republican

Party would have larger eyes and smaller chins, which are traits associated with physical attractiveness and beauty, than U.S. congresswomen affiliated with the Democratic Party.

Study 1: Facialmetric Data

Procedure: Identified and located complete, front, facial view

photographs of the 2013 U.S. elected congresswomen Facialmetric assessments for each photograph

Facial width to height ratio (fWHR)

Supporting previous research Berry & McArthur, 1985 Keating, Mazur, & Segall, 1981 Zebrowitz, 1997 Zebrowitz & Montepare, 1992

Republicans

Democrats

Deb Fischer (NB)Jaime Herrera Beutler (WA) Susan Brooks

(ID)Martha Roby (AL)

Donna Edwards (MD)Debbie Wasserman

Schultz (FL) Grace Meng (NY) Lois Capps (CA)

"Their ideas of beauty are, on the whole, the same as

ours": Consistency and variability in the cross-

cultural perception of female physical attractiveness

(Cunningham et al., 1995).

Width of Face at

Cheekbones

Length of Chin

Forehead Height

Study 1: Facialmetric Data

Results Republicans (M=55.22, SD=9.36) in office were

significantly younger than Democrats (M=62.94, SD=10.41), t (99) = 3.20, p=.002

No significant differences in facial features (all ps > .20, except nose size)

Eye area, eye width, eye length Chin area, chin length, chin width Cheekbone prominence, facial narrowness, cheek thinness

Only significant differences in nose length (p=.04) and nose tip width (p=.01)

Democrats had larger noses Nose width is traditionally an African American trait (Blair,

Judd, & Chapleau, 2004) Greater racial and ethnic variation within the Democratic

party

Republican Democrat

Nose Length and Nose Tip Width

Candice Miller (MI) Ann Kirkpatrick (AZ)

Study 2: Participant Ratings

Hypothesis U.S. congresswomen affiliated with the Republican

Party would be rated more attractive, conservative, and feminine than U.S. congresswomen affiliated with the Democratic Party.

Study 2: Participant Ratings

n = 158 participants rated 101 congresswomen

70% Female, 30% Male

50% Freshmen

40% Moderate (Political Ideology)

70% Caucasian

Method Online survey

Study 2: Participant Ratings

Results Consistent with predictions and past research findings,

compared to Democratic congresswomen, Republican congresswomen were rated as more

Physically attractive Conservative Feminine

Physical attractiveness was correlated with femininity r (99) = .75, p < .05

Attractive Conservative Feminine

REPUBLICAN

DEMOCRAT

Kristi Noem (SD) Kristi Noem (SD)Kelly Ayotte (NH)

Rosa DeLauro (CT)

Connie Brown (FL)

Barbara Mikulski (CA)

Discussion

Study 1: Facialmetric Data

With the measurements we could not quantify differences between Democratic and Republican congresswomen

Study 2: Participant Ratings

Consistent with previous literature, Republican congresswomen were rated more attractive, conservative, and feminine than Democratic congresswomen

IMPLICATIONS

If you are considering running for a political party, then keep in mind image matters

Stereotypes within political parties

Almost all participants could not recognize the congresswomen

Political ideology

LIMITATIONS

Our sample may not be a good representation of the population in the U.S.

More Democrats than Republicans in the sample

“Style shapes image and

image affects

the vote” (Rosenberg et al.,

1986)

Future Directions

Ask participants whether or not they would vote for the candidate

Look at male congressional candidates and see if voter preferences mimic a similar pattern

Republican congressmen would be rated more attractive, conservative, and masculine than Democratic congressmen

Look at candidates in the context of presidential election

References