Anger and fear nudge voters toward different kinds of leader faces, study suggests

A new study suggests that the emotions people feel when thinking about political issues may influence their preferences for certain types of leader faces. According to the research published in Cognition and Emotion, when voters feel angry about a problem, they are more likely to be drawn to dominant-looking leaders, while fear tends to make them lean towards trustworthy-looking leaders.

In the study, 201 American participants were asked to select the issue that made them feel the most angry or afraid from a list of major national problems. They then completed a task where they had to quickly choose from 36 computer-generated leader faces, rated for their level of dominance and trustworthiness.

The findings indicate that anger leads to a stronger preference for dominant leaders, while fear increases support for trustworthy leaders. This suggests that different emotional reactions to political issues may shape how people evaluate potential leaders based on their physical appearance. The results have implications for understanding how everyday domestic politics are influenced by emotions such as anger and fear, which are typically not as well-studied in this context.