Scholarship of Discovery
Using a technique known as reverse correlation image classification, we demonstrate that the physical face of Mitt Romney represented in people’s minds varies as a function of their attitudes toward Mitt Romney. This provides evidence that attitudes bias how we see something as concrete and well-learned as the face of a political candidate during an election. Practically, this implies that citizens may not merely interpret political information about a candidate to fit their opinion, but that they may construct a political world where they literally see candidates differently.
Young, A. I., Ratner, K. G., & Fazio, R. H. (2013). Political attitudes bias the mental representation of a presidential candidate’s face. Psychological Science, 24, 503-510.