Why You May Not Like Ted Cruz's Face, According To Science (qz.com)

An anonymous reader writes: Ted Cruz pitches himself as an overcomer, an underdog, an outsider who beats the odds. While the Republic candidate has won four states in this nomination race so far, a neurologist says he still faces a big obstacle with voters: his own face. In an interview with Quartz, George Washington University's Richard E. Cytowic said the unusual movements of Cruz's face may make him seem less sincere to the human brain than other candidates. "The normal way a face moves is what's called the Duchenne smile, named after the 19th century French neurologist. So the mouth goes up, the eyes narrow and the eyes crinkle at the outside, forming crows feet," said Cytowic, a professor of neurology. "Cruz doesn't give a Duchenne smile. His mouth goes in a tight line across or else it curves down in an anti-Duchenne smile. So he doesn't come across as sincere at all." Visceral reactions probably drive a lot more of politics than anyone likes to admit; seeming trustworthy isn't the same as being trustworthy, but it sure helps win people over.

Comments

"Appears" Insincere?

[Anonymous Coward]

He appears insincere because, guess fuckin' what, he *is.*

Cruz is a Dominionist. None of this means anything to him except insofar as he can grab the reins of power and usher in some dystopic nightmare fusion of 1984 and The Handmaiden's Tale. Dominionists have been a scary powerful group since the Nixon years and they went absolutely metastaticwhen Bush II was elected.

If he is not stopped, we're going to end up ruled by the Christian Taliban.

Re:"Appears" Insincere?

[MightyMartian]

How is voting for someone who denies what virtually every scientist has known to be a fact for over a century not voting for a religious zealot?

That is if Cruz is a creationist. I suspect he understands his supporters well and simply apres their ignorance and prejudices.

Re: "Appears" Insincere?

[Type44Q]

I very much suspect that Cruz's "insincere face" is a case of causation rather than correlation.

Re:"Appears" Insincere?

[um... Lucas]

I suspect he understands his supporters well and simply apres their ignorance and prejudices.

No, that's the reality show star.

Cruz actually believes what he says.

Re:"Appears" Insincere?

[rtb61]

You left out the final conclusion to "That includes anyone they consider God's enemies." and of course if they want your money, they consider you God's enemy. Hardly the first atheist to use religion as a masquerade to gain money and power. They seriously can not believe in the religion they claim to believe in and behave the way they do, quite simply logically impossible.

Re:"Appears" Insincere?

[Grishnakh]

BS. You are not the arbiter of what religion is and isn't correct, or who is practicing their religion "wrong". There's nothing remotely logical about religion in the first place, so calling their practice "logically impossible" makes no sense at all.

Every Christian sect is based on selective interpretation of an ancient book that's compiled from many volumes from various sources over several thousand years, most of it just written-down versions of oral lore. The Bible is completely contradictory, so of course different sects are going to interpret it differently. The Dominionist version isn't any more wrong than whatever interpretation you choose to believe, if any. However, their beliefs *are* real, and very disturbing, and anyone who isn't one of them should be doing whatever they can to make sure these wackos don't gain any power over them.

Re: "Appears" Insincere?

[Darinbob]

You can be white of pure European ancestry and be Cuban, Mexican, Columbian, etc. It's actually pretty common from some hispanic countries. That's why "hispanic" is not an ethnicity more than it is a social grouping.

Sincerity

[Indigo]

The secret of success is sincerity. Once you can fake that you've got it made.
-- Jean Giraudoux

Less sincere than a politician?

[penguinoid]

may make him seem less sincere than other candidates.

I'm not sure that's possible.

He looks like

[hduff]

Grandpa Munster
i.imgur.com/G8LGrnY.png

Never mind his face, I don't like him.

[Anonymous Coward]

Affordable health care has been an issue for most of my adult, working life. Republicans and Democrats alike have proposed solutions, but until six years ago no one delivered.

We had a vote. The majority, the fricken majority chose the winner, and the winner delivered on a campaign promise to deliver affordable health care to everyone.

The fricken majority.

And he and his ilk have spent six years since then trying to over turn what the fricken majority voted for.

Is it any wonder nobody likes him?

Re:Never mind his face, I don't like him.

[Anonymous Coward]

You mean the majority that after that abomination was passed has been trying for the past six years to get rid of it? The majority that's currently supporting candidates who will get rid of it?

People wanted health care reform, sure. They didn't want to be forced to be overly expensive health plans.

All we needed was tort reform and a little loosening of the ridiculous FDA restrictions, but no, Obama dumped even more regulations into the system.

There's a reason Trump is winning and winning big.

Re:Never mind his face, I don't like him.

[Anonymous Coward]

Just reversing the rule prohibiting buying prescription drugs from Canada would dramatically lower the costs for millions of Americans who, despite being forced to buy "affordable health care", are stuck with ridiculously high deductible policies that don't even provide co-pays for drugs until they meet their deductible, which they can't do because their premiums are ridiculously high.

Re:Never mind his face, I don't like him.

[NicknameUnavailable]

When you go with majority rule the minority still get fucked over. When the "majority" is 51% it's not even a majority, it's a statistical fluke.

Re:Never mind his face, I don't like him.

[Anonymous Coward]

Affordable health care has been an issue for most of my adult, working life. Republicans and Democrats alike have proposed solutions, but until six years ago no one delivered.

We had a vote. The majority, the fricken majority chose the winner, and the winner delivered on a campaign promise to deliver affordable health care to everyone.

The fricken majority.

And he and his ilk have spent six years since then trying to over turn what the fricken majority voted for.

Is it any wonder nobody likes him?

If Obamacare does get repealed, it will have been repealed by the fricken majority.

The will have been a vote. And Obamacare will have been overturned by the majority, the fricken majority.

And if the winner this November is Trump, he will have delivered on a campaign promise to overturn Obamacare.

I just hope the Republicans ram the overturning through using every shady legislative trick possible just to teach the Democrats a lesson.

And then the Republicans keep going and use every damn legislative dirty trick to ram through laws that prevent government employee unions of any sort from making any campaign contributions to any politician.

Because there's NOTHING more corrupt than forcibly using union dues that come from taxpayer-funded salaries to make hundreds of millions of dollars of campaign contributions - that's GOVERNMENT BY THE GOVERNMENT FOR THE GOVERNMENT. Also known as "tyranny". And it's the modus operendi of the Democratic Party in the US.

Re:Never mind his face, I don't like him.

[Waffle Iron]

So essentially, you advocate the standard Republican health plan: "Don't get sick. And if you do get sick, die quickly."

Re:Never mind his face, I don't like him.

[Anonymous Coward]

And this brilliant plan helps families that have someone with a preexisting condition obtain insurance, HOW?

If you have a preexisting condition, that means you were betting on not getting sick and not paying into the pool. You played the lottery and you lost. Your problem, not mine.

Dead wrong.

I changed jobs. The insurance company of my new employer denied benefits because I "now" had a pre-existing condition.

Had I stayed with my old employer, my old insurance company would have continued to pay. Instead I had to cough up a large chunk of cash out of my own pocket, because it was only after being treated that it became known that they wouldn't pay.

I know someone who spent 30 years at the same employer, whether it was good or bad because of his cancer and their insurance. Back when you could spend 30 years with the same employer, of course.

That's one of the reasons Obamacare had to kill the pre-existing conditions loophole. The old rules were designed when people had job security.

Re:Never mind his face, I don't like him.

[dmr001]

Or it means you had diabetes (and there are plenty of thin, otherwise people with diabetes) and didn't work for a company that offered health insurance;

Or it means you had a (now illegal) plan that "covered" well child visits, just not more than 2 in the first two years of life (out of the 9 that are the standard of care);

Or it means you fell off a ladder painting your house and broke your back;

Or it means you have congenital heart disease —

SORRY SUCKERS! You shouldn't have had Pacific Islander grandparents/been a kid/painted your house/been born — not my problem! I'm not saying "Your problem, not mine" isn't a valid viewpoint, but I do think that letting people who have treatable medical problems through no fault of their own drop dead in the streets is a bit more individualistic than all but the most libertarian viewpoints in the US. Not to mention every single other developed nation on the planet, that somehow manage to have popular support for their universal health care systems yet still spend about half of what we do.

Re:Never mind his face, I don't like him.

[Grishnakh]

The government has been forcing you to pay other peoples' medical bills ever since the VA, Medicare, and Medicaid were passed into law.

If you don't like that, I suggest you move to Somalia, where you don't have to pay for any socialized services.

It's not the face itself that turns me off

[Opportunist]

It's what comes out of it when he opens his mouth.

Re:Where are such analysis of Hillary!, anyway?

[hey!]

Well it doesn't take much of a study to show Hillary Clinton is not good at projecting warmth and sincerity on the stump. She's at her best in debates, where she she seems a lot more real. On the stump she seems really phony, and the big smile that doesn't reach to the eyes is a big part of that.

Now does that actually mean anything? Imagine you're a politician giving a campagin speech before a group. This may be the twentieth time you've given this exact speech before a similar group in the last week, but you've got to make it fresh for them, make your response to them seem spontaneous and authentic. It's well nigh impossible, but some people can do it. Bill Clinton can do it.

You know who else can do it? Donald Trump. If you think about what he's saying even a little bit he's clearly en epic bullshitter, but he makes a genuine-seeming emotional connection with crowds. And I think it seems genuine because on a certain level it is genuine. He's morbidly narcissistic and craves the admiration they're giving him.

The real truth of Ted Cruz's birth certificate

[BarbaraHudson]

What is undisputed is that he was born in Canada. But as you can tell by the way his face looks more like skin slapped over lumpy clay, his weird un-smile, the way that nobody who has ever worked for him likes him - it all points to one conclusion:

Ted Cruz is half Sasquatch!

Un... goto politifact. Cruz really lies a lot.

[Maxo-Texas]

I wrote this for another forum which was focused on trump. But basically only 21% of Ted Cruz's statements are true or mostly true. He lies twice as often as Clinton and Sanders and almost twice as often as Rubio. He's facile at lying. Lying is a tool in his tool box. It has little to do with his face.

From politifact, the Pulitzer prize winning political fact checking site.

http://www.politifact.com/pers...
51% of Clinton's statements are all true or mostly true. Another 21% are half true.

http://www.politifact.com/pers...
48% of Sander's statements are all true or mostly true. Another 21% are half true.

http://www.politifact.com/pers...
35% of Rubio's statements are all true or mostly true. Another 22% are half true.

http://www.politifact.com/pers...
21% of Ted Cruz's statements are all true or mostly true. Another 13% are half true.

http://www.politifact.com/pers...
8% of Trump's statements are all true or mostly true. Another 14% are half true.

yes.. 8% is yoooge.

Trump is saying mostly false statements to outright lies 78% of the time. When caught in a lie, he just lies again.

I was suprised to see Cruz had such a high lie rating given that he's christian and christians are against the lord of lies but his particular sect does approve of lying in the service of the lord so that may be playing a factor here.

Trump is almost a full order of magnitude more dishonest however.

Re:More likely reason

[readin]

From what I've seen and heard, Cruz is a darling too. https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

Re:Where are such analysis of Hillary!, anyway?

[readin]

When I think about it, this makes Hillary seem more trustworthy. I'm much more willing to trust someone who can't fake sincerity than I am to trust someone who can looks sincere no matter what they're saying.
But based on their positions and history I'm voting for Cruz.

Re:Un... goto politifact. Cruz really lies a lot.

[Maxo-Texas]

Oh yea...

http://www.politifact.com/pers...
48% of Bush's statements are all true or mostly true. Another 22% are half true.

1% better than Sanders.

http://www.politifact.com/pers...
39% of Christie's statements are all true or mostly true. Another 26% are half true.

The site gives perfectly good ratings to honest republican candidates.

I think most of expect politicians to shade the truth a quarter of the time and lie a quarter of the time while being honest the rest of the time. that's the stardard for politicians.

Cruz and Trump are something exceptional and their low ratings were due to their own statements (which you can check by following the links).
If any would care to show that "pants on fire" lies were actually true or "mostly false statements" were actually true, then I'll cede that politifact is biased.

However, when I've checked it- it has been as reliable as snopes.

Cause and Effect

[quantaman]

That creates an interesting question assuming you agree with the empirical evidence that Ted Cruz is very dishonest.

I basically see three main possibilities:

1) It's just a coincidence that a very insincere face is coupled with a very insincere man. The researcher suggests this though he's basically just repeating the null hypothesis.

2) Cruz's face behaves the way it does because he's so dishonest. The brain uses different circuits when lying or manipulating (ie fake smile vs genuine smile). If he's spent years being highly manipulative the circuits that control how his face move might work subtly different.

3) Finally he might be lying so much because he realizes he looks dishonest and has come to identify as such (or he's learned people won't believe him regardless).

I suspect it's one of the latter two, our brains don't do perfect heuristics but they're often based on something real.

This reminds me of the study that found hockey players with rounder faces were more aggressive. Of course that doesn't tell you if the aggression and round face were both caused by the same underlying factor (ie testosterone) or if the players were acting more aggressive because they looked more aggressive.

Delivered what?

[zerofoo]

"delivered on a campaign promise to deliver affordable health care to everyone"

After my last company meeting on healthcare benefits, 6 years into the affordable care act, I can say for certain that "affordable" healthcare has not been delivered to "everyone".

Every single person I know is paying significantly more for healthcare than they were 6 years ago. Even worse, many are paying for plans with such high deductibles, that their so-called health insurance is never used.

The ACA did absolutely nothing to contain cost increases that have been outstripping inflation and wages by many many times. At best the ACA can be credited with bringing catastrophic coverage to some folks who never had any coverage at all - at a significant cost to everyone else.

The ACA needs to be put in the trash and replaced with something that actually controls cost increases.

Re:Where are such analysis of Hillary!, anyway?

[Hognoxious]

Maybe she's faking not being able to fake sincerity?

I see your source and raise you mine

[zerofoo]

Rising health care premiums:

http://www.politico.com/story/...

Anyone who actually pays the bill for their healthcare is reporting the same thing - higher premiums and even higher deductibles. Our company has multiple insurance brokers competing for our healthcare policies - every single one, every year, has come back with significant cost increases.

This issue is going to hurt the Democrats during this election cycle. They pushed for the ACA, and told everyone that it would control costs and increase coverage. They can't blame Republicans for this as not a single Republican voted for this mess.

Re:I see your source and raise you mine

[Anonymous Coward]

The actual statistics do not agree with Politico.com (you'd be on firmer ground citing Wikipedia, by far):
http://kff.org/health-reform/fact-sheet/analysis-of-2016-premium-changes-in-the-affordable-care-acts-health-insurance-marketplaces/

The sticker shock is higher - but not after the tax credit. If you make over 4x the federal, then yeah, you're not eligible for the tax credit and you're probably going to pay more. But that's the whole point. It's a progressive legislation, designed to subsidize health insurance for people with low incomes.

Also worth pointing out that overall health care costs are growing much more slowly than the decade prior to the ACA.

Re:I see your source and raise you mine

[ChunderDownunder]

A question: Would health insurance premiums have risen over the past 8 years even if Barry O's healthcare policy hadn't been enacted? I suspect an angry middle-class will be disappointed if they expect premiums to stabilise or fall under President Trump.

Here in Australia, the government attempted to 'Americanize' health care by offering tax incentives to take out private health insurance. Yet premiums are expected to rise 5.6% this year and no one bats an eyelid.

Re:Un... goto politifact. Cruz really lies a lot.

[penguinoid]

I'm not sure how Politifact decides which statements to rate, but I'm pretty sure Trump has told the truth more than that one time.

I rate their "All True statements involving Donald Trump == 1" to be "pants on fire".

It's not his face I care about

[kimvette]

I don't care about politicians' faces. Really.

I don't dislike Cruz because of his smile; I dislike Cruz because he's an asshole.

Re:Un... goto politifact. Cruz really lies a lot.

[phantomfive]

You should probably dig deeper into politifact's system before relying on it in a heavy way......

At the very least, politifact doesn't even attempt to get 100% coverage of every statement of the candidates, so using it to determine who lies a higher percentage of the time is questionable

Just wait

[Xabraxas]

While his face is eminently punchable wait till you see his policies. You'll want to kick him in the nuts.

What is Dominionism

[rsborg]

Here are some primers:

Courtesy of Wikipedia:

Dominion Theology is a theocratic ideology that seeks to implement a nation governed by conservative Christians ruling over the rest of society based on their understanding of biblical law

Courtesy or DailyKos:

Dominionism, also called Christian Reconstructionism is, simply put, the belief that Christians must take over the planet, and only then can/will Christ return. It is the duty of the Church to take power, and use that power to establish “biblical law” across the globe over time.

As Gary North (previously mentioned) said "So let us be blunt about it, we must use the doctrine of religious liberty to gain independence for Christian schools until we train up a generation of people who know that there is no religious neutrality, no neutral law, no neutral education, and no neutral civil government. Then they will get busy in constructing a Bible-based social, political and religious order which finally denies the religious liberty of the enemies of God."

I don't like his face because

[Gojira Shipi-Taro]

He's a Theocratist Shit-Sack. Anyone that even HINTS that the Bible should win out over the Constitution can go get fucked sideways with a bandsaw. Keep your church out of my life you christian taliban motherfucker.

Re:Un... goto politifact. Cruz really lies a lot.

[Maxo-Texas]

You may need a refresher on the bible being against lying generally.

https://www.openbible.info/top...

Proverbs 6:16-19 ESV / 824 helpful votes

There are six things that the Lord hates, seven that are an abomination to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil, a false witness who breathes out lies, and one who sows discord among brothers.
Proverbs 19:9 ESV / 690 helpful votes

A false witness will not go unpunished, and he who breathes out lies will perish.
Proverbs 12:22 ESV / 653 helpful votes

Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord, but those who act faithfully are his delight.
Psalm 101:7 ESV / 448 helpful votes

No one who practices deceit shall dwell in my house; no one who utters lies shall continue before my eyes.
Colossians 3:9-10 ESV / 406 helpful votes

Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.
Luke 8:17 ESV / 319 helpful votes

For nothing is hidden that will not be made manifest, nor is anything secret that will not be known and come to light.
Proverbs 12:19 ESV / 253 helpful votes

Truthful lips endure forever, but a lying tongue is but for a moment.
1 John 2:4 ESV / 233 helpful votes

Whoever says âoeI know himâ but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him,
Ephesians 4:25 ESV / 210 helpful votes

Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another.
John 8:44 ESV / 196 helpful votes

You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and has nothing to do with the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.
Revelation 21:8 ESV / 167 helpful votes

But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.â
1 John 1:9 ESV / 166 helpful votes

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Exodus 20:16 ESV / 166 helpful votes

âoeYou shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
Proverbs 24:28 ESV / 165 helpful votes

Be not a witness against your neighbor without cause, and do not deceive with your lips.
Matthew 15:18-20 ESV / 132 helpful votes

But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. These are what defile a person. But to eat with unwashed hands does not defile anyone.â
Proverbs 19:5 ESV / 127 helpful votes

A false witness will not go unpunished, and he who breathes out lies will not escape.
Romans 12:17-21 ESV / 119 helpful votes

Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, âoeVengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.â To the contrary, âoeif your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.â Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
John 8:43-47 ESV / 119 helpful votes

Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word. You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning,