Running for president is one race where being “average” may help out, according to research from an NIU professor.

John Kerry, who took both Virginia and Tennessee’s primaries Tuesday night, does not rate well in terms of attractiveness, said political science professor James Schubert said.

Schubert has done research in the psychology of attractiveness and how it may affect voter preference. He and Margaret Curran of Richard Stockton College in New Jersey have spent years studying attractiveness.

They have found that certain face features rate high in attractiveness.

“People prefer averages in faces, and people prefer symmetry in faces,” Schubert said. Averages in faces means that when photos of various faces are digitized and their features are are measured, average measurements of features are calculated.

Photographs of people who have average features are shown to groups of people, who rate them as highly attractive, Schubert said. People also tend to prefer symmetrical faces, he said.

Before the primary process began, Schubert presented pictures of the nine Democratic candidates to NIU undergraduates and asked them to rank the candidates by attractiveness.

John Edwards rates the most attractive in terms of averageness and symmetry, Schubert said. Wesley Clark is a close second, but has the most dominant face.

CNN reported that Clark will drop out of the race Wednesday.

Dominance, like attractiveness, can affect how people rate candidates, Schubert said.

“Both are part of the stereotype of what a leader looks like,” Schubert said. People who were tested responded to faces with large chins, prominent or high cheekbones and enhanced eyebrow ridges.

People responded well to the chiseled, or “Charlton Heston” look, Schubert said.

“Kerry makes people feel good,” said Gary Glenn, professor of political science at NIU. Glenn said at this point in the nomination process, the election is about superficial impressions and about who makes the voters feel good.

Kerry rated neither high nor low as having an attractive or dominant face, Schubert said.

Glenn said Kerry, after taking all but two of the primaries and caucuses, is seen as a winner and could contribute to making people feel good.

There are two other characteristics that their research has shown people use to rate faces: baby faces or young-looking faces and healthiness, Schubert said.

However, voters’ preferences may change later in the election.

“When people know who the candidates are … that affects their judgement,” Schubert said.