You can find our submission guidelines here. comments Leave a comment facebook Share this item on Facebook the public's opinion and understanding of a situation after seeing it as the media shows it, and the possible political effects of this: The political optics of this are horrible … Typically in a political context) the way in which an event or course of action is perceived by the public. Wendy L. Patrick, J.D., Ph.D., is a career trial attorney, behavioral analyst, author of Red Flags, and co-author of Reading People. Are Optics And Politics Steering State Farm Bills? [3] Viren Swami and Adrian Furnham, The Psychology of Physical Attraction (London: Routledge, 2008), 11. People are likely to regard attractive people in a more positive light than those who are less-attractive. For months he dismissed the severity of the COVID-19 pandemic, even as infection rates, deaths and the public’s fears zoomed upward. The Politician´s Halo: When Appearances Are Confused With Reality, The tendency to favor political candidates who are easy on the eyes is explained by the halo effect. Optics are the way something looks to an outsider, especially concerning political actions. SHARE. SHARE. The take away? Interestingly, at the time, the metaphor also extended to the related adjective optical, with for example … 4, Winter, 2003, 237−254 (240) (citing Eagly, Ashmore, Makhijani, and Longo, 1991). As I was unfamiliar with the word ‘optics’ used in a ‘political’ connotation, I checked OED and CED online, and found out: Oxford English Dictionary defines ‘optics’ as: (North Ame.) Administrators worry about the bad optics of hiring new staff during a budget crisis. [19] Hehman et al., “Warmth and Competence: A Content Analysis of Photographs Depicting American Presidents,” 50 (citing McCombs & Shaw, 1972). One of the most important visual symbols in politics is a candidate’s facial expression and physical appearance. "The optics of a Solyndra default will be bad," according to a Jan. 31 email from an Office of Management and Budget staffer printed in the Washington Post. Geometrical optics has to do with the principles that govern the image-forming properties of devices that make use of light. Although the optics of the bicycle rack are not good, true ugliness may lie in optics of a different sort. 1, No. We have another example of optical failure in California’s recent past — the recall of Gov. Timothy C. Brock and Melanie C. Green (Thousand Oaks: SAGE Publications, 2005) 143–69 (156). 3 (2000): 390-423. Metaphorical expansion of optics into political and other arenas in fact dates back to the late 1970s, when it was used in the context of US President Jimmy Carter's anti-inflation policy. Politics as usual: poor optics or poor judgement Steve Ramsay Dec 11, 2020 Dec 11, 2020 ... political interest groups; and, the California Correctional Peace Officers union. Politics at CNN has news, opinion and analysis of American and global politics Find news and video about elections, the White House, the U.N and much more. Raymond Hébert, a political science professor emeritus at Université de Saint-Boniface, said it best in a recent interview with the Free Press. As much as we like to believe otherwise, in politics, as in many other areas of life, people are positively influenced by good looks. How significant is this effect? ‘the issue itself is secondary to the optics of the Democrats opposing this administration in a high-profile way’. Bad optics would be giving the media or the political opposition a juicy story to play with. [6] Robert B. Cialdini and Brad J. Sagarin, “Principles of Interpersonal Influence,” in Persuasion: Psychological Insights and Perspectives, 2nd ed., eds. Body Positivity: What Goes Around Comes Around? In politics, they call it optics, or appearances — how something looks might not be the full measure of what it really is. In real life politics, as opposed to the textbook variety, hard fact is much less important than image or, as political pros put it, “optics.”. [1] Robert B. Cialdini and Brad J. Sagarin, “Principles of Interpersonal Influence,” in Persuasion: Psychological Insights and Perspectives, 2nd ed., eds. [10] Montepare and Dobish, “The Contribution of Emotion Perceptions,” 240 (citing DePaulo, Blank, Swaim, and Hairfield, 1992; Mueser, Grau, Sussman, and Rosen, 1984). Gavin Newsom is now mid-way through his first term as governor and he, too, is facing twin crises, the pandemic that undid Trump and a severe recession resulting from his orders to shut down much of the state’s consumer economy to battle COVID-19. 3 Reasons Why Being Single Is the New "Finding the One", 10 Words or Phrases That Convey Intelligence and Nuance, The Best Way to Deal with the Selfish People in Your Life, Psychology Today © 2020 Sussex Publishers, LLC, The Strongest Predictors of Sexual Desire, 3 Glimpses into the Hidden World of Gender Bias, “Black Lives Matter” Matters for Children’s Development. However, new problems emerged. looks have an impact on the jury too. Get a veteran journalist's take on what's going on in California with a weekly round-up of Dan's column every Friday. According to the results of research studies, however, they should also be showcasing themselves. Despite our better judgment and logical sense that we should not judge a book by its cover, research demonstrates that we do. [3]  Attractive individuals are thereby subject to being unfairly clothed with an aura of positive qualities that in many cases, they do not have. These photons have both the properties of a wave as well as a particle. 1, 46–52, DOI: 10.1037/a0026513. There was an error and we couldn't process your subscription. [4], The impact of the halo effect in political elections can be significant. They were expounding at how such a good looking man could not be guilty of committing what we had accused him of. [13], What about voters who do not attend political functions or events? Is Someone Avoiding You? Gray Davis in 2003. Political optics, as they say, is not about right or wrong -- it’s more about the “image” and “symbolism” that you showcase. He was such a nice looking person they were saying. TWEET. [8], Regarding a candidate´s social behavior, it is interesting to note that socially, attractiveness is linked with both affiliation and dominance. [11] Guerrero and Floyd, Nonverbal Communication 58−59 (citing Cherulnik, 1989). 126, No. More example sentences. 2 North American usually treated as singular (typically in a political context) the way in which an event or course of action is perceived by the public. The impact of candidate photographs was explored in a study by Eric Hehman et al. This Might Be Why, How to Spark Powerful Chemistry Through Simple Conversation, Know your Neighbors: Lessons From the Paris Attacks, Voting With Our Eyes: Attractive Candidates Get More Votes, 3 Irresistible Qualities in a Mate That Aren't Physical, Toward a Photo Finish: A Picture Is Worth a Thousand Votes. [18] Hehman et al., “Warmth and Competence: A Content Analysis of Photographs Depicting American Presidents,” 50 (citing Rule et al., 2010). As Americans get set to head to the polls, candidates are showcasing their voting records, their qualifications, and their background and experience. [17] Hehman et al., “Warmth and Competence: A Content Analysis of Photographs Depicting American Presidents,” 50. [17] This finding is particularly important because these qualities are universally linked with leadership. Political repercussions are all about optics. optics noun [U] (MEDIA) US informal. As you might surmise, "optics" is important for political purposes. Published on October 3, 2020 Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by this author are their own and do not represent the … The jury on Newsom’s handling of both is still out, but they could be politically overshadowed by the bad optics of ancillary aspects. [9] Joann M. Montepare and Heidi Dobish, “The Contribution of Emotion Perceptions and Their Overgeneralizations to Trait Impressions,” Journal of Nonverbal Behavior, Vol. #BTColumn – The politics of optics and illusions - by Barbados Today Traffic October 3, 2020 . EDD is now seen as a department incompetently handling legitimate claims for vital benefits while incompetently paying those benefits to prisoners who use obviously phony, even comical, names and Social Security numbers they simply make up, including 123-45-6789. Phone calls went unanswered and unprocessed claims for benefits piled up and at one point, Newsom suspended new applications to let EDD concentrate on its shameful backlog of claims. “Optics” in that sentence does indeed mean “appearance” or “public perception,” the simple “how it looks” likely to be understood by voters, which in this case is being counterposed to the supposed deeper reasoning behind Mitt Romney’s decision not to sign a pledge being circulated by a political group. A Meta-Analytic and Theoretical Review,” Psychological Bulletin Vol. [7] But there is more. Please contact Gary Reed with any commentary questions: gary@calmatters.org, (916) 234-3081. [6], We also expect certain things from attractive individuals. Just last week, it was revealed that inmates in state prisons and local jails had fraudulently and successfully claimed as much as a billion dollars in benefits from EDD. Timothy C. Brock and Melanie C. Green (Thousand Oaks: SAGE Publications, 2005) 143–69 (156) (citing Efran and Patterson, 1976). Well, that nice person was at that time probably at that very moment going up another escalator to face his his other current charges in the felony court that involved the very serious physical attack of a woman. They are not immune from the halo effect if they follow the news in any fashion that involves photographs, because positive qualities can be portrayed through a photograph alone. [12], The caveat to all of this research, however, is that despite the tendency to presume good things about good-looking people, in reality, it has been demonstrated that halo-effect inspired stereotypical beliefs are not accurate in any area. Whoops! However, once media figures began using “optics” to describe political events in terms of what they look like, their underlying theory of perception quickly took a more abstract quality. He began his professional career in 1960, at age 16, at the Humboldt Times... We expect good-looking people to be more outspoken, amiable, accommodating, content, humorous, and observant than their unattractive counterparts. Why are so many people drawn to conspiracy theories in times of crisis? Nalini Ambady and John J. Skowronski (New York: The Guilford Press, 2008) 147–68 (153) (citing Miller, 1970). EDD was tasked with distributing the emergency pandemic unemployment aid but muffed it spectacularly, generating hatred among millions of suddenly jobless Californians who depended on the payments to feed and house themselves and their families. [13] Schneider et al., Applied Social Psychology, 82. Attractive individuals are believed to have other positive characteristics, such as being kind and strong. entitled “Warmth and Competence: A Content Analysis of Photographs Depicting American Presidents.” [14], The researchers found that in general, people are more likely to read articles that are accompanied by photographs. Want to submit a guest commentary or reaction to an article we wrote? [8] Schneider, Frank W., Jamie A. Gruman, and Larry M. Coutts. As a political term, “optics” took advantage of the rapidly growing representational accuracy of media coverage of politics. This is because the halo effect causes people to assume that good-looking individuals have other positive qualities. ... More in City Politics. [5]  Research reveals that in some cases, we view attractive individuals as kind, intelligent, talented, and—of great significance in political elections—honest. | The Right Stand With Anand Narasimhan. Proudly powered by Newspack by Automattic. Schneider et al., Applied Social Psychology, 82 (citing Brehm, Miller, Perlman, and Campbell, 2002). If you found our work valuable in this crisis-filled year for California, please consider supporting our newsroom. Duration: 46:00 02-11-2020. The content of this field is kept private and will not be shown publicly. By clicking subscribe, you agree to share your email address with CalMatters to receive marketing, updates, and other emails. We had a stark lesson in that axiom this year when Donald Trump talked himself out of a second term as president. 27, No. Newsom’s gubernatorial career won’t be undone by an ideological revolution in blue California, but it could be short-circuited by bad optics — a perception that he’s out of touch and incapable of managing even routine governmental business. SHARE. [10]  Of particular relevance to political campaigns, attractive people are believed to have superior leadership skills[11] and enhanced social skills. Gavin Newsom.In real life politics, as opposed to the … In as little as a tenth of a second, voters form opinions of the candidates based on a candidate’s facial expression. In summaryBad optics undid Donald Trump and Gray Davis, which is a lesson for California Gov. [9] Regarding facial expression, attractive faces are positively linked with positive affect and emotional expression. Status Update: Why Does Having Power Promote Promiscuity. Optics usually describes the behaviour of visible, ultraviolet, and infrared light. A politician playing golf during a violent protest in their home state would be an example of bad optics. Use the unsubscribe link in those emails to opt out at any time. Shortly after being re-elected in 2002, Davis confronted two simultaneous crises, a hole in the state budget stemming from a mild recession and a near-collapse of California’s electrical power system. Bad optics? Article by Barbados Today Traffic. [15] Hehman et al., “Warmth and Competence: A Content Analysis of Photographs Depicting American Presidents,” 46 (citing Zillman, Knobloch, & Yu, 2001). [16], This finding is significant due to the influence that a photograph can project. We had a stark lesson in that axiom this year when Donald Trump talked himself out of a second term as president. Hence this type of property is called wave-particle duality and the study of light in the area of physics is known as Optics. [16] Hehman et al., “Warmth and Competence: A Content Analysis of Photographs Depicting American Presidents,” 50 (citing Katz et al., 1977). [7] Monica J. Harris and Christopher P. Garris, “You Never Get a Second Chance to Make a First Impression: Behavioral Consequences of First Impressions,” in First Impressions, eds. Now we use the word to describe how political statements and decisions are received in the … Ultimately, he was viewed as not only uncaring but unwilling to offer leadership in an existential crisis, and lost to Joe Biden, one of the most lackluster presidential candidates in American history. So here we are, I'm back. In real life politics, as opposed to the textbook variety, hard fact is much less important than image or, as political pros put it, “optics.”. (used with a plural verb) the way a situation, action, event, etc., is perceived by the public or by a particular group of people: The optics on this issue are pretty good for the Democrats. Dan Walters has been a journalist for nearly 60 years, spending all but a few of those years working for California newspapers. Hey, I know try and keep a weekly upload schedule but my broadband went out the window (ta, Virgin). One of the major reasons for the decline of TRS’s popularity is its optical failure. 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