Would McCain have won in wartime?

摘要

The mark of a good leader may be etched on their face but whether he or she gets elected might depend on the state of the nation. To see whether facial characteristics influence our choice of leader, Brian Spisak and Mark Van Vugt at the University of Kent, UK, manipulated computer images of male and female faces to make them appear more masculine or feminine. They asked 118 volunteers to choose one of them as a leader for different scenarios: during times of war; when peacekeeping between different groups was important; during periods of transition; to maintain stability after a natural disaster; and when there was a risk of civil war.