PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Todorov, Alexander
AU  - Mandisodza, Anesu N.
AU  - Goren, Amir
AU  - Hall, Crystal C.
TI  - Inferences of Competence from Faces Predict Election Outcomes
AID  - 10.1126/science.1110589
DP  - 2005 Jun 10
TA  - Science
PG  - 1623--1626
VI  - 308
IP  - 5728
4099  - http://science.sciencemag.org/content/308/5728/1623.short
4100  - http://science.sciencemag.org/content/308/5728/1623.full
SO  - Science2005 Jun 10; 308
AB  - We show that inferences of competence based solely on facial appearance predicted the outcomes of U.S. congressional elections better than chance (e.g., 68.8% of the Senate races in 2004) and also were linearly related to the margin of victory. These inferences were specific to competence and occurred within a 1-second exposure to the faces of the candidates. The findings suggest that rapid, unreflective trait inferences can contribute to voting choices, which are widely assumed to be based primarily on rational and deliberative considerations.