The Mind Games Politicians Use To Win Votes

Politicians do seem to give off a slimy feel. Everything about them is polished and tailored to try to get my vote. It’s kind of gross. And yet, I still vote for them. From the way they look, the way they sound, to the words they choose. Politicians and their staffs carefully craft their speeches and appearance to invoke emotion in their constituents. Emotion plays a huge role in who we will vote for. A study published in the journal Psychological Review found that often, our moral judgements ar

en’t the result of reasoning but of quick, automatic, intuitive feelings. And politicians can use this to their advantage. They often get your vote by evoking some strong emotion in you. Emotion tends to call people to action more than reasoning, and unfortunately, the emotions political candidates often invoke are anxiety or fear. A study published in the journal Political Psychology, found that anxiety tends to influence our political views, especially towards certain groups. For example, anxi

ety may make some people remember negative experiences with immigrants making them more likely to vote for a candidate who advocates tighter immigration policies. Plus, anxiety causes people to see ambiguous information in a more negative and threatening light. And by invoking fear, politicians can rally people around specific causes and create stronger allegiances with those we consider like us. Even more than what politicians say, is how they say it. They might change the way they talk. A stud

y published in PLOS One found a deeper voice correlates with the idea that the politician is stronger, more competent, and older. But deeper voices only benefit politicians in specific instances. For example, a study published in the journal Political Psychology looked at the 2012 U.S House elections, and found if a politician's voice was deeper and their opponent was a female, they were less likely to win; especially if they were male. The researchers think that a lower voice might seem too agg

ressive, in that case. But it’s not just the language politicians use, and the pitch of their voice, it’s their body language too. Politicians need to project an image of calmness and surety. They use “positive body language” like keeping gestures below shoulder level and steadying their hands. According to Don Khoury, a nonverbal communication consultant: if politicians sway or fidget too much, this gives off vibes of arrogance, insincerity, or low confidence, which turns off voters. Some resea

rchers even believe they can predict election results on body language alone. And looks do go a long way. A study published in the journal Science found that voters often judge the character of a political candidate based entirely on their visual appearance, which can have huge impacts on elections. So politicians try to appear as attractive as possible, especially if they’re a woman, because studies show that not only do people prefer better looking politicians, they actually get more media cov

erage. And a study published in the journal Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience found that a negatively received image, like if they appeared threatening, was far more detrimental to their campaign than being attractive was helpful. So much of what we feel about politicians and politics is so... subconscious. Your feelings are decided before you even know it. But maybe once we start to become more aware of political tactics, we can use our cool reasoning instead of our fiery emotions to

pick the next president.