Revealed: The key attribute that makes you more ATTRACTIVE – and it’s not humour or intelligence
Whether it’s updating your wardrobe or choosing a new hairstyle, many people try anything to look more attractive.
But new research shows that your physical beauty is actually linked to one important trait.
Humor and intelligence might be the first two qualities that come to mind.
However, researchers from Tel Aviv University say it all comes down to kindness, also known as prosociality.
“Because of its central role in human relationships, prosociality has a unique influence on the evaluation of physical attractiveness,” the team wrote.
Whether it’s updating your wardrobe or getting a new haircut, many people will try anything to appear more attractive. But a new study suggests that your physical beauty is actually linked to one key feature (stock image)
Previous research has shown that there are a number of factors that influence your physical beauty.
This includes facial symmetry, flirtatiousness and self-confidence.
Until now, however, the impact of kindness on physical beauty has remained largely unexplored territory.
“In a society that values appearance, it is important to understand the factors that influence the assessment of beauty,” the researchers, led by Dr. Natalia Kononov, wrote in their study, published in the journal British Journal of Social Psychology.
‘We investigate how prosociality – defined as actions that benefit others, such as cooperation and kindness – influences the assessment of beauty.’
The results showed that prosocial people were rated as physically more beautiful in all 10 experiments
In their new study, the researchers conducted a series of experiments involving a total of 4,192 participants.
Participants were shown passport photos of smiling men or women, along with descriptions of them.
The descriptions included various traits, such as working in a soup kitchen (indicating that the person was kind), humor, and intelligence.
After viewing the images and descriptions, participants were asked to rate how attractive they found the people in the photos.
The results showed that prosocial people were rated as physically more beautiful in all 10 experiments.
Surprisingly, the researchers also found that promiscuity had a greater effect on beauty than humor or intelligence.
“While other personality traits have their advantages, this study shows that prosociality has a significantly greater influence on beauty judgments than other positive traits, such as humor or intelligence,” the team said.
The researchers hope the findings will highlight the “unique and central role” of prosociality in shaping your physical appearance.
“At the individual level, performing kind and helpful acts may lead to more positive evaluations of one’s appearance,” they concluded.