Why Ted Cruz’s Facial Expression Makes Me Uneasy
What message are the Senator’s atypical facial gestures sending?

"No matter what the emotional coloring of Senator Cruz’s outward rhetoric is, his mouth typically tightens into the same straight line. If it deviates from this, then the corners of his mouth bend down, not upwards. The outside of his eyebrows bend down, too, when he emotes, something so atypical that it disturbs me. Typically a person’s eyebrows arch up, as does the corrugator muscle that furrow the forehead. What is such a downturned face signaling?

Downturned expressions usually signal disagreeableness or disgust. But I honestly don’t know because such an expression is rare in the context of public presentations that are meant to win people over. Cruz may well be unaware that the message of his body language is incongruent with his words."
https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-fallible-mind/201601/why-ted-cruz-s-facial-expression-makes-me-uneasy

I find this kind of stuff incredibly interesting. It illustrates just how much of our voting choices end up being affected by our subconscious. Now it may be because of some social disorder, it may be because he is hiding something, or even just genetic. The thing is that it makes people feel uncomfortable because it isn't "normal" and it affects how people vote. It is kind of scary the way some people vote, on style and on looks because of course the quiet unattractive individual might be the one who would make the best decisions.

So how many people like or don't like candidates because of irrelevant subconscious things they don't even realize?

Why does anyone even care? 

Why does anyone even care? 

Care about the psychology behind it?

Care about the psychology behind it?

It makes no difference in the cosmos unless you want it to. Anyone who truly thinks this is meaningful in anyway is just looking for an excuse to not like someone as a candidate because they can't wrap their mind around something logical to not like about a candidate. So they look for a feeling to not like him. It doesn't mean a thing about how someone is going to perform at their job. It is nothing more than another form of prejudice. 

This thing you call an article is nothing more than a hack job on Cruz. It is as obvious as the line we have to stand in to register our guns. They can't attack him on his politics or his religion so they attack his looks. People who believe this crap and vote against Cruz just for this reason deserves another 8 years of other POS like Obama, Hillary and Bernie. Morons. What a bunch of BS. 

"So how many people like or don't like candidates because of irrelevant subconscious things they don't even realize?" 

How can I know if subconscious things make me I like or dislike a candidate if I don't realize them ? 

His face and cackle remind me of a witch.

This just reassures my opinion that he is a sleezy politician.

His face and cackle remind me of a witch.

This just reassures my opinion that he is a sleezy politician.

Even his voice is a little high pitched. That would not stop me from voting for him if I felt he is the best candidate based on factors that matter.

Politician s suck. They all sleezy. speciiilay sanders & Hilary. Soshalists are stupid.

Even his voice is a little high pitched. That would not stop me from voting for him if I felt he is the best candidate based on factors that matter.

Good thing he isn't.

It makes no difference in the cosmos unless you want it to. Anyone who truly thinks this is meaningful in anyway is just looking for an excuse to not like someone as a candidate because they can't wrap their mind around something logical to not like about a candidate. So they look for a feeling to not like him. It doesn't mean a thing about how someone is going to perform at their job. It is nothing more than another form of prejudice. 

This thing you call an article is nothing more than a hack job on Cruz. It is as obvious as the line we have to stand in to register our guns. They can't attack him on his politics or his religion so they attack his looks. People who believe this crap and vote against Cruz just for this reason deserves another 8 years of other POS like Obama, Hillary and Bernie. Morons. What a bunch of BS. 

Ok, I don't think this is all some conspiracy attack ad. As a student of sociology and psychology, as well as a fan of those sciences I can tell you that these things are real. The human brain looks at facial features since they are a form of communication, and it does it incredibly fast. This is a survival mechanism to help determine whether a person is friend, foe, or something else. Certain facial expressions are associated with certain reactions and when something doesn't fit, it stands out as different which raises the alert level.

Sometimes these cues are obvious and we know why they make us dislike a person. Say for example someone grinned upon hearing the news your child died today. You would recognize this as inappropriate and easily be ablate explain why.

Sometimes the cues are not so obvious and though your subconscious recognizes it, your conscious side does not. Perhaps you are walking down the street and someone passes you by and you get an uncomfortable feeling. You know you feel uncomfortable around that person but you cannot explain why.

This sort of subconscious weariness of an individual will affect our actions through the survival mechanism and voting for candidates for office is not immune to this mechanism. It almost certainly affects the way some people vote. Maybe even just on a small level, like deciding between two candidates with similar positions.

Now this is not to say you cannot overcome this mechanism, but not everyone will try or even recognize it to try and overcome it. You can force yourself to talk to that person on the sidewalk who gave you an uncomfortable feeling but many won't.

JMHO, to me he looks serious and concerned.  The way I feel about our country's situation as of late.

JMHO, to me he looks serious and concerned.  The way I feel about our country's situation as of late.

I don't find his looks concerning to me as much as the way he talks. He sounds like a used car salesman both in the style of his speech and his stances on certain issues.

It's an easy pick for me.  I am NOT voting for herr Sanders nor Killery nor any person with a (D) by their name unless they convince me that they are PRO 2A.  Any hint of anti gun looses my vote forever.  Wishywashy brother Will Espero is on my shit list in that arena.

I just love how the blatant liberal trolls here try to pick at silly trivia about a person's appearance as a reason not to vote for them.  Few things I love more than skewering liberal hypocrisy.

Gee, are they not the ones that screech tolerance of all with disabilities and such? 

If one said they would not vote for someone because their black skin gave them the creeps, the howls for blood would be deafening.

These trolls would never vote R regardless, what a stupid thread, just for them to pick at candidates they would never vote for in any case.

I just love how the blatant liberal trolls here try to pick at silly trivia about a person's appearance as a reason not to vote for them.  Few things I love more than skewering liberal hypocrisy.

Gee, are they not the ones that screech tolerance of all with disabilities and such? 

If one said they would not vote for someone because their black skin gave them the creeps, the howls for blood would be deafening.

These troll would never vote R regardless, what a stupid thread, just for them to pick at candidates they would never vote for in any case.

+1

The prevalence of this kind of garbage makes me less and less inclined to frequent this site.

There is no left wing in American politics any more. Democrats are a right wing party with a cotton-candy coating, which has driven Republicans so far to the right that they have become insane. Cruz is just another jabbering idiot trying to capitalize on this trend. He's like the gun shop owner who preys on the fears of conspiracy theorists to sell more guns, without thought to the fact that he's feeding dangerous delusions that could one day threaten public safety. They don't care. They just want your money. The just want your consciousness.

Ok, I don't think this is all some conspiracy attack ad. As a student of sociology and psychology, as well as a fan of those sciences I can tell you that these things are real. The human brain looks at facial features since they are a form of communication, and it does it incredibly fast. This is a survival mechanism to help determine whether a person is friend, foe, or something else. Certain facial expressions are associated with certain reactions and when something doesn't fit, it stands out as different which raises the alert level.

Sometimes these cues are obvious and we know why they make us dislike a person. Say for example someone grinned upon hearing the news your child died today. You would recognize this as inappropriate and easily be ablate explain why.

Sometimes the cues are not so obvious and though your subconscious recognizes it, your conscious side does not. Perhaps you are walking down the street and someone passes you by and you get an uncomfortable feeling. You know you feel uncomfortable around that person but you cannot explain why.

This sort of subconscious weariness of an individual will affect our actions through the survival mechanism and voting for candidates for office is not immune to this mechanism. It almost certainly affects the way some people vote. Maybe even just on a small level, like deciding between two candidates with similar positions.

Now this is not to say you cannot overcome this mechanism, but not everyone will try or even recognize it to try and overcome it. You can force yourself to talk to that person on the sidewalk who gave you an uncomfortable feeling but many won't.

EEF,

I am a human being. I have lived for almost 58 years. I understand everything you said. I have understood from the time I became self aware. I have understood it before you were even born. It is a part of being a self aware human being. Every human being knows and understands this. This is what makes us different from animals. I didn't have go to college and take numerous psychology classes, like I did to understand it. Don't try and explain basic human understandings to me because it is patronizing. And no one wants to be patronized especially by the likes of you.

What I was talking is those who know they have a conscious, logical decision to make regarding a candidate and allows their illogical fear to make one of the most important decisions of their lives based on that illogical fear is a moron. I could give a hoot whether it is conscious or unconscious. Bottom line is if they are so out of touch with reality that they cannot recognize and understand their illogical feelings and use those illogical feelings to make one of the most important decisions of their lives in order to choose a candidate, that person is a moron. Or if they are in touch with their illogical feelings and understands why they feel uncomfortable and they make one of the most important decision of their lives based on that illogical feeling, they are a moron. That is what I am talking about.

I don't find his looks concerning to me as much as the way he talks. He sounds like a used car salesman both in the style of his speech and his stances on certain issues.

So are you saying you are not going to vote for him for this reason? 

I just love how the blatant liberal trolls here try to pick at silly trivia about a person's appearance as a reason not to vote for them.  Few things I love more than skewering liberal hypocrisy.

Gee, are they not the ones that screech tolerance of all with disabilities and such? 

If one said they would not vote for someone because their black skin gave them the creeps, the howls for blood would be deafening.

These trolls would never vote R regardless, what a stupid thread, just for them to pick at candidates they would never vote for in any case.

I find this type of science very interesting. If you don't thats fine, but you don't need to be a troll about it.

But if you are thinking that I am suggesting that people should not vote for Cruz because of this reason then you completely miss the whole point of the article and the science. This has nothing to do with whether you should actually vote for Cruz or not.

You don't have to try and label anyone who doesn't like Cruz as a liberal.