The Visual Conjoint: A New Solution for Social Desirability Bias

• In Event: Quantitative Study of Race & Gender

Abstract

Experimental research examining biases related to candidate characteristics such as skin colour and facial appearance has dramatically increased in recent years. This work is important, as appearance-based heuristics influence candidate evaluations and election outcomes. Yet the inferences drawn often downplay the possibility of social desirability bias and overstate generalizability. I propose a new method, the ``visual conjoint,'' that attempts to address these concerns. I illustrate the approach by examining voter preferences over candidate height, and find large, previously unobserved heterogeneity in these preferences by candidate race and gender that undermine the evolutionary account theorised in existing scholarship. I conclude by describing other potential applications of the method, including in low-literacy contexts.

Author

• Rachel Bernhard, Nuffield College