When you think of a military general, the descriptor “cute” probably doesn’t come to mind. 

But cuteness may have helped Prabowo Subianto, a former military leader and defense minister, reshape his image to prevail as a conservative presidential candidate in Indonesia’s 2024 elections. His campaign positioned Subianto as a cuddly grandfather-type figure—complete with AI-generated cartoons—despite his controversial military past.

Our recent research suggests that this electoral result isn’t all that surprising. Specifically, we found clear links among specific types of cuteness, purity, and conservatism, revealing important implications for political persuasion and messaging.

Part of our motivation for studying these relationships was that cuteness is ubiquitous now, with adorable puppies, bears, and babies appearing in messaging for everything from sports to toilet paper to political campaigns. By “cute” we specifically mean the attributes of infants—like big eyes,........

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