Tests with volunteers have shown that a politician’s appearance can definitely affect the results of elections.

It has been known for years that a charming and good-looking person can win votes even if people don’t agree with their views. However, a new study has tested whether this works with voters from other countries.

Researchers showed volunteers in the US and India various pairs of photographs. These all showed competing politicians from real Mexican and Brazilian elections.

Volunteers were then asked to make a quick judgement on who had the best appearance and who would make a better elected official. The American and Indian volunteers gave very similar answers. Just knowing who was voted most appealing allowed the researchers to predict the outcome of 68% of the elections.