Physical strength as a heuristic cue of political conservatism

Abstract

Physically formidable men are motivated to pursue strategies to acquire resources and status through direct competition and the promotion of hierarchical social organization. In service of these priorities, these men support social policies favoring the use of aggressive bargaining and hierarchy-maintenance strategies. Given these associations, we hypothesized physical strength may function as a heuristic cue of political conservatism. Participants in four unique U.S. samples assessed the political orientation of men who varied in physical strength and musculature, considering various facets of what constitutes conservatism. Physically strong men appeared more conservative to perceivers (Study 1; N = 203). Neither type of conservatism (social versus fiscal) nor presence of wealth cues moderated effects (Study 2; N = 302). Perceivers further regarded liberty as most central to strong men's morality (Study 3; N = 179). Similar perceptions emerged for muscularity as cue to upper body strength (Study 4; N = 210). We frame results from an affordance management framework, wherein perceivers identify the potential social opportunities and costs of social targets based on physical features that inform trait inferences.