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Hello, if you're reading this post, the chances are that you want to increase your attractiveness. But ask yourself why: Why do you want to? Is it for yourself or for someone else? Attractiveness is complex and is influenced by many, many, many factors, such as physical appearance, personality, individual differences, age, and culture. What one person might find attractive, another might not, and that's the truth.
There is no one-size-fits-all answer to how to look or be more attractive, and there never will be. What is most important is that you're healthy, authentic, and comfortable with yourself. Most likely you're fine as you are right now, but society and trends are making you feel otherwise.
This article was highly requested and it's of no surprise seeing that some societies place a lot of importance on 'attractiveness' these days as seen in work culture and social media. Take the findings of these studies with a pinch of salt because they're all flawed in one way or another and are just ideas to be further explored. The studies are pretty interesting.
Contents
Being in groups can apparently make you seem more attractive.
According to a study in China, Peng et al. (2020) found that:
Individuals were rated as more attractive when they were part of a group, regardless of their individual attractiveness. This effect was stronger for larger groups than for smaller groups.
This suggests that people tend to perceive individuals as more attractive when they're part of a group.
Being successful can apparently make you seem more attractive.
According to research on German football players by Meier and Mutz (2020):
The relationship between attractiveness and professional success is complex and likely bi-directional.
Attractiveness is not a prerequisite for success, but it can be a consequence of success.
Successful individuals may invest more into their appearance over time, which can further enhance their attractiveness.
Sharing similarities with others apparently makes you seem more attractive.
This one seems a bit complicated, okay? In a study by Chu and Lowery (2023), it is suggested that:
People who believe that their core attributes are caused by an underlying essence (self-essentialist reasoning) are more likely to be attracted to people who share their attributes. They believe that these shared attributes indicates a deeper shared 'essence'.
In much simpler terms , people who think that their attributes are what make them who they are, are more likely to be attracted to people who have the same attributes. They believe that shared attributes are a sign that they have a deeper connection with these people.
Being honest apparently makes you seem more attractive.
In a study by Paunonen (2006):
Individuals who were described as being honest were rated as more attractive than those who were described as being dishonest.
This suggests that honesty is a highly valued trait that can significantly influence perceptions of physical attractiveness.
More recently, in a study by Niimi and Goto (2023):
People who were perceived as honest were rated as more attractive than people who were perceived as dishonest.
An aggressive personality was suggested to decrease the facial attractiveness of men.
Being desired by others apparently makes you seem more attractive.
According to research by Rodeheffer et al. (2016):
'Female mate choice copying' is influenced by women's judgment of a man's quality based on the attractiveness of his partner.
When men were pictured with an attractive partner, compared to when alone, women rated these men more positively on unobservable qualities (i.e., trustworthiness, wealth).
When women see a male with an attractive mate, they suggest that he is more likely to have many unobservable positive qualities that women look for when selecting romantic partners.
Women find men more attractive when they are desired by other women as well, this is because women believe that these men desired by other women are more likely to have good qualities.
Female mate choice copying is a way for women to reduce their risk of making poor mating decisions.
In simpler terms, women use their opinions of other women to help them choose a good partner.
Exercising apparently makes you seem more attractive.
According to research by Dobersek et al. (2020):
Physical attractiveness is an important factor in choosing a partner.
Exercise has many health benefits.
Exercise may make people more attractive by increasing their self-confidence and vitality.
People who exercise frequently are more likely to have higher self-perceived mate value (how they rate their own attractiveness).
People with higher self-perceived mate value are more likely to desire partners with a higher mate value.
These findings suggest that exercise may make people more attractive by increasing their self-perceived mate value.
Other factors such as personality and socioeconomic status, could also explain the relationship between exercise and mate value.
This study suggests that exercise may be a beneficial way to improve your self-perception and attract partners.
According to research by Li et al. (2023):
The researchers investigated the relationship between athletic performance and facial attractiveness.
There is a positive correlation between athletic performance and facial attractiveness.
They found that athletes with better performance were considered more attractive.
Different skill-related physical fitness requirements have different performance patterns in face attractiveness.
Correlation does not equal causation.
Athletic performance may be a signal of physical fitness and reproductive potential, which are both important factors in selecting a potential partner.
These findings suggest that athletic performance may be a way to increase attractiveness.
Doing good things apparently makes you seem more attractive.
According to research by Konrath and Handy (2021):
There is a positive correlation between physical attractiveness and giving behaviours, suggesting that people who are physically attractive are more likely to engage in giving behaviours.
The "good-looking giver effect" is stronger for women than for men, suggesting that physical attractiveness may be more important for women when it comes to giving behaviours.
In simpler terms, there is a positive correlation between physical attractiveness and giving behaviours. Correlation does not equal causation.
Engaging in giving behaviours could be a way to boost your attractiveness.
Smelling pleasant apparently makes you seem more attractive.
According to research by Feng and Lei (2022):
Odour valence (how pleasant we find an odour) can influence how attractive we find faces.
Faces presented with pleasant and neutral odours were judged as significantly more attractive than those with unpleasant odours, suggesting that pleasant odours can enhance facial attractiveness, while unpleasant odours do the opposite.
Pleasant odours make faces seem more attractive, while unpleasant odours make faces seem less attractive.
People find faces more attractive when they smell pleasant. The more pleasant, the more attractive the face seems.
Wearing heels apparently makes you seem more attractive.
According to research by Prokop (2022):
The effect of high heels on perceived sexual attractiveness, leg length, and women's 'mate-guarding' was studied.
High heels made women appear more attractive and longer-legged to both men and women.
High heels promoted women's mate-guarding of their own partners.
High heels make legs more attractive by visually prolonging leg length.
Other factors, such as personality or socioeconomic status, could also explain the relationship between high heels and attractiveness or mate-guarding.
Wearing makeup in specific ways apparently makes you seem more attractive.
According to research by Batres et al. (2022), makeup can make you look more attractive by:
Making your face look symmetrical.
Making your face look average.
Making your face look feminine.
Making your face look younger.
Making your face look healthier.
In simpler terms, makeup can make you look more attractive by making your face look more like what people 'typically' find attractive.
Jones et al. (2015) suggest that:
Cosmetics can make people look more attractive by changing the contrast between different parts of their face, such as the eyes, eyebrows, skin and lips. This contrast is a cue to sexual dimorphism and youth, which are both considered attractive. Sexual dimorphism is the presence of physical differences between males and females.
According to Aguinaldo and Peissig (2021):
Faces with light makeup were rated as more attractive.
Faces with heavy makeup were rated as more attractive than faces with no makeup, but less attractive than faces with light makeup.
Faces with 'extreme' makeup were rated as least attractive.
Light makeup is the most effective level of cosmetics application for enhancing facial attractiveness, competence, and sociosexuality.
In simpler terms, the study found that people are perceived as most attractive and competent when they wear little makeup.
Being seen as extroverted and agreeable apparently makes you seem more attractive.
In a study by Meier et al. (2010):
Participants who were high in agreeableness or extroversion were rated as more attractive than participants who were low in these traits.
This suggests that sociable people are generally perceived as more attractive than unsociable people.
People who are sociable (agreeable and extroverted) are generally perceived as more attractive than people who are unsociable. This may be because sociable people are more likely to take care of their appearance.
Not seeing someone's complete face can apparently make them seem more attractive.
In a study by Orghian and Hidalgo (2019):
It was found that humans judge faces in incomplete photographs as physically more attractive than complete photos.
Why? It may be because we tend to fill in missing information with positive inferences.
Thank you for reading this post. If you have any questions, you may leave them below. :)
Aguinaldo, E.R. & Peissig, J.J. (2021). Who’s Behind the Makeup? The Effects of Varying Levels of Cosmetics Application on Perceptions of Facial Attractiveness, Competence, and Sociosexuality. Frontiers in Psychology, 12. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.661006
Batres, C., Jones, A. L., Barlett, C. P., Porcheron, A., Morizot, F., & Russell, R. (2022). Makeup works by modifying factors of facial beauty. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts. https://doi.org/10.1037/aca0000505
Chu, C. & Lowery, B. S. (2023). Self-essentialist reasoning underlies the similarity-attraction effect. Journal of personality and social psychology. https://doi.org/10.1037/pspi0000425
Dobersek, U., Stallings, B., Wy, G.C., Case, C.R., & Maner, J.K. (2021). Does Exercise Make Me More Attractive? Exploring the Relations Between Exercise and Mate Value. Evol. Psychol. Sci., 7, 124-133. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40806-020-00270-w
Feng, G. & Lei, J. (2022). The Effect of Odor Valence on Facial Attractiveness Judgment: A Preliminary Experiment. Brain Sciences, 12(5), 665. Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/brainsci12050665
Holtzman, N. S. & Strube, M. J. (2013). People With Dark Personalities Tend to Create a Physically Attractive Veneer. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 4(4), 461-467. https://doi.org/10.1177/1948550612461284
Jones, A. L., Russell, R., & Ward, R. (2015). Cosmetics Alter Biologically-Based Factors of Beauty: Evidence from Facial Contrast. Evolutionary Psychology, 13(1). https://doi.org/10.1177/147470491501300113
Konrath, S. & Handy, F. (2021). The Good-looking Giver Effect: The Relationship Between Doing Good and Looking Good. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 50(2), 283-311. https://doi.org/10.1177/0899764020950835
Li, W., Zhu, H., Zhao, K., Zhu, H., Wang, X., & He, X. (2023). Good performance-high attractiveness effect: an empirical study on the association between athletes’ rankings and their facial attractiveness. International Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1080/1612197X.2023.2181846
Meier, H. E. & Mutz, M. (2020). Does Attractiveness Lead to or Follow From Occupational Success? Findings From German Associational Football. SAGE Open, 10(1). https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244020903413
Meier, B. P., Robinson, M. D., Carter, M. S., & Hinsz, V. B. (2010). Are sociable people more beautiful? A zero-acquaintance analysis of agreeableness, extraversion, and attractiveness. Journal of Research in Personality, 44(2), 293–296. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrp.2010.02.002
Niimi, R. & Goto, M. (2023). Good conduct makes your face attractive: The effect of personality perception on facial attractiveness judgments. PLoS ONE, 18(2). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0281758
Orghian, D. & Hidalgo, C.A. (2020). Humans judge faces in incomplete photographs as physically more attractive. Sci Reports, 10, 110. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-56437-4
Peng, C., Mao, Y., Pagliaro, S., Roberts, S., & Livi, S. (2020). Are Individuals Perceived as More Attractive within a Group? A Confirmative Study of Group Attractiveness Effect and the Cheerleader Effect in China. Healthcare (Basel), 8(3), 344. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare8030344
Prokop, P. (2022). High heels enhance perceived sexual attractiveness, leg length and women’s mate-guarding. Curr Psychol, 41, 3282-3292. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-020-00832-y
Paunonen, S.V. (2006). "You are honest, therefore I like you and find you attractive". Journal of Research in Personality, 40, 237-249.
Rodeheffer, C. D., Proffitt Leyva, R. P., & Hill, S. E. (2016). Attractive Female Romantic Partners Provide a Proxy for Unobservable Male Qualities: The When and Why Behind Human Female Mate Choice Copying. Evolutionary Psychology, 14(2). https://doi.org/10.1177/1474704916652144