Cuteness Is Political

We found, in general, that study participants who valued purity preferred cuter versions of a product (e.g., a mug with giant, imploring eyes) to more standard versions. People differ in how much weight they give purity in moral judgments, and conservatives tend to give it more weight than average. Thus, we predicted that conservatives would appreciate cute products more than liberals would. 

We collected observations from 3,648 participants across the U.S., U.K., and India and consistently found that political conservatives, on average, like baby-like cute products—mugs, keychains, water bottles, and others—more than political liberals, as measured by purchase intent and other variables. Similarly, we found that the number of searches for cute products (e.g., dresses, toys, bags) on Google Shopping is higher in red states than blue states in the U.S. 

Our work shows that moral value systems permeate everyday consumption decisions, often without explicit awareness, and that designing messaging and packaging to reflect a consumer’s moral value system is one way marketers reel in consumers. While our experiments focused on product attitudes, choices, and purchase intentions rather than receptivity to political messages, candidate trust, or voting behavior, the core finding that moral values drive consumers’ basic aesthetic preferences and choices has meaningful consequences for political messaging. The same tips marketers use to design attractive products can be used to craft relevant political messages.