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Getting Ready for the 2012 Election Season ?		 SEE where Edina AND area Candidates CURRENTLY
live, within NEW legislative districts.
 

Fact: 
The average voter votes on "appearance"
          Not because of candidate positions.


January 7, 2011 FOX ran a news feature of a study demonstrating that the "More Attractive" Candidates Get More Media Exposure and More Votes. [Usually a few days before it becomes available on the web]
 

That's Not new news:

In 1964 one of my political science professors taught us how the average person actually votes based on "impression" particularly "appearance", while stating that they vote "on the issues"

I have been challenged on this often, usually by persons who themselves are very intense in their politics and who believe most other voters make studious decisions - or follow party lines.
 

Therefore,

Over time I've kept a file of scientific studies by all sides and learned institutions. These date from the 1970's to 2011 - and demonstrate this is not just an American phenomena but is International thanks to media, primarily television. NOTHING has changed. That is why candidates are marketed like commodities, why negative advertising (especially visuals) work.
 

Below, please find a partial list of links to online resources that I just updated. It is in no particular order. Try them all and enjoy voter psyche class 101:


 

Some publications, such as from Wiley Library, show an abstract and require purchase for entire article.

The SupremeCourt adopted a policy of "least change", which in the case of Edina kept much close to the way it was


Click map image to download a detailed Zoomable PDF
Candidate houses highlighted in yellow
 Green Lines 41A is North, 41B is South plus Southwest

Changed to Show New Districts 2/21/2012
 Updated 2/7/2012 to add Melisa Lopez Franzen
 Let us know of any other potential candidates to be added
"Physical Attractiveness and Candidate Evaluation: A Model of Correction" (2011 International Society of Political Psychology) http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1467-9221.2010.00812.x/abstract
"Voters vote beautiful: The effect of physical appearance on a national election" (1974 American Psychological Association) http://psycnet.apa.org/journals/cbs/6/4/352/
A 1986 Study http://www.jstor.org/pss/2111296
Low information Voters vote on basis of attractiveness http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/07/19/attractive-candidates-have-an-advantage-among-some-voters-study/
Television Leads Less Informed Citizens to Vote Based on Candidates Appearance (2011 Study MIT ) http://www.mit.edu/~glenz/looking_the_part.pdf
Heavy TV Viewers More Likely To Act On Politicians Looks http://news.discovery.com/human/heavy-tv-viewers-more-likely-to-act-on-politicians-looks.html
"She found that the students almost always voted for the more attractive candidate" (Bradley University) http://www.bradley.edu/academic/departments/fcs/news/story.dot?id=134051
"Men Are More Likely to Vote for a Hot Female Candidate" (Northwestern University 2010) http://www.politicususa.com/en/vote-gender-bias
British Study 2007 http://www.liv.ac.uk/~scr/pdf/2007_EHB_Politicians.pdf
MIT Recent Study http://www.ib.ethz.ch/teaching/pwgrundlagen/WP_faces.pdf
Sweden and Finland study 2004 http://thoughtundermined.com/?p=1216

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