"Often people think that when they are viewing a candidate's official photo, they are learning about the candidate's unique traits," Tsai said. "But our findings suggest that they are also learning about the candidate's culture and the emotions it values."
Why do American politicians smile wide?
Answer: It demonstrates excitement, an American value.
Research conducted by Jeanne Tsai, a Stanford associate professor of psychology, revealed that the way politicians smile is an indication of their respective nations’ values, Phys.org reported. The leaders of East Asian countries like Taiwan and China, for example, smile more calmly and modestly than their Western counterparts. The smile of a political leader is a fairly accurate representation of a nation’s “ideal affect” for a given member of its society, the research showed.
"Often people think that when they are viewing a candidate's official photo, they are learning about the candidate's unique traits," Tsai said. "But our findings suggest that they are also learning about the candidate's culture and the emotions it values."
"Often people think that when they are viewing a candidate's official photo, they are learning about the candidate's unique traits," Tsai said. "But our findings suggest that they are also learning about the candidate's culture and the emotions it values."
