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Some eggheads in marketing tested the impact of product endorsements from men with whiskers and men without. (Ah, the joys of working in academia.) Study guinea pigs rated the bearded men as more trustworthy and expert on everything but underpants... probably because resistance to shaving signals resistance to other fripperies of civilization... like underpants.
Reports Tom Bartlett:
The researchers say the implications of their findings could extend far beyond advertisements. For instance, male politicians might want to consider not shaving because the "presence of a beard on the face of candidates could boost their charisma, reliability, and above all their expertise as perceived by voters, with positive effects on voting intention" [Tom Bartlett, "The Trustworthiness of Beards," The Chronicle of Higher Education: Percolator, 2010.04.14].
The article doesn't appear to separate mustache and beard effects, so the safest bet for Chris Nelson, R. Blake Curd, and those other little shavers is to grow it all back!
Interesting, when I ran for the legislature 20 years ago I was told to shave because there was polling that showed people did not trust men with beards.
ReplyDeleteMark Hollenbeck
Cory, you hairy guy.
ReplyDeleteI'm going home so I can't help with signatures but my offer still stands if you run for Senate as an Inde or Green.
Interesting, Mark—that seems to be the prevailing wisdom, Honest Abe notwithstanding. I think that shaving advice is just a plot cooked up by Gillette... or maybe by envious fellas whose beards come in thin. ;-)
ReplyDeleteThanks again, Larry, but for now the only votes I'm looking for are the votes of one boss or board who will pay me a living wage.
In order to get a living wage you have to actually "work" Cory.
ReplyDelete...and I will continue to do so.
ReplyDeleteCory consistently produces more original and interesting (oftentimes provocative) work than the Madison Daily Leader, and last time I looked they had a full time staff. Maybe Cousin should leave a tip, after all he's being given a worthwhile forum. Pay up cheapskate.
ReplyDeleteAaron, I'd give plenty to have Cory's full head of hair and "instant" beard capabilities. I will take issue with your slam about his work ethic. I remember Cory working at Prairie Village. Never used a golf cart, always RAN from building to building and I can't say anyone outworked him. He and I see things through different glasses, but Cory does work hard at everything he does.
ReplyDeleteI'm often a bearded kind of fellow myself, great minds think alike, right Cory?
ReplyDeleteYes, Cory does a great deal for the community, igniteSD for instance, which will be awesome (we're both organizers of this fine event, Mochavinos, 7pm, 5/27, be there)
So, Cory, I figure much like myself, we may not get the glory for our efforts, but we sure do give em' hell, and that alone is priceless.
We might actually do more work than most, we should really start to keep track of this, a bearded record of cool things we're doing for the community.
For all those envious of us, grow a beard, it will change your prespective, and make you a smarter, more handsome, all around more awesome bearded guy.
Always beware of those shavers too!
Cory's efforts will bring him success in ways that are impossible to foresee. Keep up the good work Cory!
ReplyDeleteFor every disciplined effort there is a multiple reward. ~ Jim Rohn ~
John, Rod, Chris, Barry, thank you for your kind words. I will work to live up to the standards you expect of me.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, John, I found a scholarly paper yesterday that finds online citizen journalism (i.e., blogs!) is more likely than online newspapers to "feature a greater diversity of topics, information from outside sources and multimedia and interactive features."
Jon Hunter: no whiskers. Cory Heidelberger: whiskers. Hmmm... ;-)