First Impressions Bring Election Victories to Candidates

According to a recently released report, the first impression an election candidate makes is a crucial factor in the voter decision-making process.

Alexander Todorov, assistant professor of psychology and public affairs at Princeton University, and his research team said in a research report printed in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, “It took only 0.25 second for voters to choose their favorite candidate, and more time only reinforced confidence in their decisions.”

His research team asked some 100 college student volunteers to choose which of two candidates in gubernatorial or senate races appeared more competent by showing them those who were elected and their candidates for 0.1 seconds, 0.25 seconds and two seconds.

The outcome showed that participants thought those who were elected were more competent. This means their choices that were made exclusively based on photos without any other information were consistent with the real election results.

Dr. Todorov explained: “Unless voters strongly support a certain political party, candidates’ first impressions can have a considerable impact on voters’ decisions.”

Cognitive scientists and neuroscientists say that the first impression is largely influenced by emotions and unconsciousness. That is why you tend to dislike someone who looks like a person with whom you had a major dispute.

The visual signals come to the optic nerves through two routes. First they are delivered to the thalamus where sensational stimuli gather, to the cerebral cortex, which controls reason, and then to the amygdale, which controls emotions. In most conscious reactions, visual signals follow this route.

In the other route, visual signals are delivered right to the amygdale without passing the cerebral cortex. This means you “feel” before you “know.” This is an unconscious reaction. Kim Dae-soo, a life sciences professor at KAIST, said, “An unconscious reaction takes place within 0.5 seconds.”

Cognitive scientists say that voters need to make a conscious effort to thoroughly review election pledges of candidates and not to follow the emotional and unconscious decisions that their amygdales make in 0.5 seconds.

sohyung@donga.com