According to a study by the Boff School of Management at the University of Chicago (USA) and Tilburg University (Netherlands), political affiliation has a very important influence on the perception of a candidate's skin tone .
To prove this, the researchers studied Barack Obama, who at the end of last year became the first black president of the United States. The scientists prepared three experiments in which the participants had to evaluate the representativeness of photographs of a hypothetical or real Obama. Unbeknownst to the participants, some of the photos were altered to show a lighter or darker skin color than the original photo. Those who agreed with the political ideas of the US president chose a higher percentage of photos with a lighter skin tone than the original. Obama's most active opponents, by contrast, immediately chose darker photographs.
Scientists conclude that political trends can influence the image that each person has of a mixed race candidate . "We discovered that the most politically active people not only 'darkened' those with whom they disagree, but also 'lightened' (the skin) of those with whom they agree," say those responsible for the study in an article published today in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).
