Angry voters pick dominant-looking leaders; fearful voters pick trustworthy-looking ones.

People often pick political leaders based on looks. We already know liberals prefer trustworthy-looking leaders, while conservatives prefer dominant-looking ones. Researchers wanted to see if our emotions also guide these visual choices, no matter which political party we support. They asked Republicans and Democrats to name issues that made them angry or afraid. Then, voters picked leaders to tackle those problems using computer-generated faces that differed in dominance and trustworthiness. Anger made people prioritize dominance over trustworthiness. When feeling angry, participants chose a more dominant, less trustworthy-looking face more often than when they felt afraid. In contrast, fear made people focus more on how trustworthy a face appeared. Overall, specific political emotions guide what we look for in leaders.

Why it matters

Elections can be swayed by which emotion voters feel on an issue, not just party loyalty. If anger makes a candidate's strong jaw more persuasive and fear makes a warm smile more persuasive, then campaigns and media coverage that stoke one emotion can shift electoral outcomes. Democratic decision-making depends on recognizing that emotional state changes what leadership looks like.

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