Value congruence in evaluations of product aesthetics: Political conservatives’ preference for kinderschema cute products

We show that political conservatives, relative to liberals, prefer kinderschema (i.e., babylike) cute products because this aesthetic is congruent with the purity/sanctity moral foundation. Across nine controlled experiments (n = 3,648), we establish the basic link between conservatism and preference for the kinderschema aesthetic. We triangulate to a purity-related process through mediation, moderation by cuteness type (infantile vs. whimsical) and product category (mug vs. condom), and analyses showing that ideological stances on purity-related issues (e.g., abortion, same-sex marriage) uniquely predict the effect. The robustness of the effect is supported by multi-country replications, longitudinal designs confirming independent measurement of key variables, and ecological validation from online search data (n = 1,808). This research establishes political ideology and moral judgements as important antecedents to consumers’ aesthetic choices. We discuss strategic implications for the segmentation, targeting, and positioning of kinderschema cute products.