Category: Attractiveness

The surprising pattern behind the expressions people respond to most positively.

When it comes to a successful smile, less is more.

The most effective, successful and pleasant smile doesn’t show too many teeth.

It is a medium- or low-wattage smile.

Certainly, it is not true that the bigger the smile, the better it is, as the study’s authors explain:

“…the optimal window (or sweet spot) of smile extent contradicts the principle that “more is always better” with respect to smile extent.”

The image below shows some of the different types of smiles they tested.

The smiles surrounded by the most green were rated the most successful.

You can see that smiles 13, 14 and 10 are surrounded by the most green, indicating that they were rated the most successful.

All three of the highest-rated smiles are relatively restrained rather than broad.

Showing too many teeth can even cause the facial expression to send a message you might not intend:

“…forming open-mouth smiles with small angles/extents can produce unintended perceptions of the expression, e.g., contempt or fear instead of happiness.”

Here, for those of you of a technical bent, are the exact scientific characteristics of a successful smile:

“…we found that a successful smile consists of (i) an optimal window of mouth angle and smile extent, (ii) the correct amount of dental show for the given angle-extent combination, and (iii) dynamic symmetry such that the left and right sides of the mouth are temporally synced within 125 ms.”

Now it’s time to head to the mirror and put the findings into practice!

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The study was published in the journal PLOS ONE (Helwig et al., 2017).

The posture that makes both sexes look more attractive.

Both men and women look more attractive when they adopt an expansive posture.

Expansive postures include holding the arms outward rather than folded, leaning backwards and keeping the legs apart rather than crossed.

Expansive gestures tend to signal openness and dominance, helping make people appear more attractive.

Dr Tanya Vacharkulksemsuk, the study’s first author, said:

“We have seen it within the animal world, that taking on extra space and maximizing presence inside a physical space can be used as signal for attracting a mate.

By applying dominance they are attempting to signal to some potential mate ‘I can do things, I’ve got a space within this hierarchy, I get access to sources.'”

The researchers recorded a speed dating event and used data from the dating app Tinder to verify their hypothesis.

In both cases, people were more likely to be chosen when they adopted more expansive postures.

The authors write in the paper:

“These findings indicate that in modern-day dating contexts, in which initial attraction often is determined by a rapid decision following a brief interaction or seeing a photograph, displays of expansive posture increase one’s chances of initial romantic success.”

The Tinder part of the study is particularly convincing because the researchers created two different profiles for the same person.

In one profile, they were adopting a hunched posture with folded arms.

In the other, they had a more expansive posture: for example, leaning back or with arms outward.

The authors write:

“In a dating world in which success sometimes is determined by a split-second decision rendered after a brief interaction or exposure to a static photograph, single persons have very little time to make a good impression.

Our research suggests that a nonverbal dominance display increases a person’s chances of being selected as a potential mate.

Expansiveness makes the dating candidate appear more dominant.”

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The study was published in the journal PNAS (Vacharkulksemsuk et al., 2016).

Most people do not use this simple way to make a good impression.

Emphasising the hard work involved in your accomplishments is the key to making a good impression.

While most people like to talk about their talents, it is describing the effort involved that really impresses people.

The reason is that effort and dedication is automatically linked to warmth and relatability in people’s minds.

So, to make a good impression — whether on a date or at a job interview — don’t forget to mention how hard you worked to get where you are.

Dr Janina Steinmetz, the study’s author, said:

“A success story isn’t complete without the hard work and explanation of why we were successful.

Did the success come easy, thanks to one’s talents, or was it attained through hard work?

Both of these attributions can be part of successful self-promotion, but my research shows that emphasising effort is more likely to garner a positive impression and people really want to know the story behind your success.”

The conclusions come from three experiments in which people imagined themselves on dates and at interviews.

An analysis of what they talked about revealed that most people focused on their talents and achievements.

Few people mentioned the hard work involved.

However, describing the hard work was what really won over interviewers and potential romantic partners.

Dr Steinmetz gives two examples:

“…if you’re on a date and talking about a marathon that you recently ran, perhaps talk about all the training that helped you to cross the finish line.

Or, if you’re in a job interview and are talking about a successful project that you led to completion, include a few details about the challenges along the way, and how you overcame them.”

The study was published in the journal Basic and Applied Social Psychology (Steinmetz et al., 2018).

People look more attractive when gazing in this way.

Looking directly at someone makes you more attractive to them.

People were particularly attracted to opposite-sex faces that were looking at them and smiling.

Dr Claire Conway, the study’s first author, said:

“When asked to think of examples of attractive facial characteristics, most people think of physical traits such as healthy looking skin, symmetrical features or a strong jaw.

Here we show that gaze direction can also be important for attraction.”

People in the study looked at a series of pictures in which faces were sometimes looking at the viewer and sometimes away (e.g. below).

Different facial expressions were also tested.

Dr Conway explained the results:

“Faces that were looking directly at the viewer were judged more attractive than faces with averted gaze.

This effect was particularly pronounced if the face was smiling and the opposite sex to the viewer.

This shows that people prefer faces that appear to like them and that attraction is not simply about physical beauty.

It is possible that our brains are wired this way to allow us to invest our time in attracting members of the opposite sex who seem the most receptive to our interest in them.”

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The study was published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B (Conway et al., 2008).

Allure might be hiding in the angle of your face.

Women look more attractive to men when they tilt their head down and look upwards slightly.

Men, though, should tilt their heads back a little and look down their noses to appear more attractive to women.

It is thought that the effect is down to the usual difference in height between men and women.

Looking upwards helps reinforce a woman’s femininity and looking downwards reinforces a man’s masculinity.

The study used computer-generated models of male and female faces that were tilted upwards or downwards.

Each face with a different tilt was evaluated by 130 people for attractiveness and masculinity.

Male faces were judged more masculine and attractive when tilted backwards while women’s faces benefited from being tilted downwards.

Dr Darren Burke, study co-author, said:

“We investigated whether looking at a face from different perspectives as a result of the height differences between men and women influenced perceived masculinity or femininity.

The research found the way we angle our faces affects our attractiveness to the opposite sex.”

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The study was published in the journal Evolutionary Psychology (Sulikowski et al., 2015).

The trick works well when other people already see you as competent.

A small mishap or blunder can make you more likable, research finds.

In the psychology study, people spilled a cup of coffee over themselves, after which people rated them as more attractive.

The blunder made people appear more human and approachable.

The trick works well when other people already see you as competent.

The authors explain that talented people are sometimes disliked by others:

“…group members who are considered the most able are not necessarily the best liked.

It has also been demonstrated that people who initiate the most ideas and are acknowledged as the best “idea” men [or women] by other members of their group are usually not the best liked group members.

A great deal of ability, in and of itself, might make the stimulus person seem “too good,” unapproachable, distant, non-human.”

Called the ‘pratfall effect’ by psychologists, it relies on the blunderer already being seen as confident.

In contrast, the incompetent blunderer is seen as less attractive after a pratfall.

So, just knocking things over, spilling drinks and slipping on bananas all day won’t do the trick!

The study’s authors write:

“Taken as a whole, these data support the contention that a blunder on the part of a superior person removes the onus of being “too good”; it increases his approachability and makes him seem less austere, more human-while a blunder on the part of a mediocre person makes him seem that much more mediocre.”

The study was published in the journal Psychonomic Science (Aronson et al., 1966).

One makes people look sexually receptive, the other more fashionable.

People wear more red and black when they want to look most attractive.

It is well-known that red increases attractiveness as it sends unconscious signals that the person is sexually receptive.

But it is only recently that psychologists have caught on to the power of black to make people appear more fashionable.

Dr Robin Kramer, who led the study, said:

“Red is traditionally seen as the colour of love but more recently research has shown that both black and red are perceived as equally attractive, and that the two colours may simply increase attractiveness in different ways.

While red may increase perceived attractiveness through evolutionary mechanisms, dates appear to rely more heavily on black in order to attract a potential mate, suggesting that cultural and societal influences may play a much larger role in the way people dress than the use of evolutionary signals.”

The results come from a study that analysed the dressing habits of 546 people on a UK dating show called ‘First Dates’.

It found that, when dating, both men and women were much more likely to wear red and black in comparison to their pre-date interview.

Black shoes, trousers and dresses were much more in evidence when people dated, than when they were interviewed beforehand.

The same was true for both heterosexual and same-sex dates.

Ms Jerrica Mulgrew, who co-authored the study, said:

“Our results provide the first real-world demonstration that people display more red and black clothing when meeting a potential partner for the first time and it was particularly interesting to find a larger increase in the amount of black worn as this wasn’t the focus when we designed the study.”

The study was published in the journal Evolutionary Psychology (Kramer & Mulgrew, 2018).

People were shown happiness, fear, anger, disgust and surprise, as well as a neutral expression.

The most attractive facial expression for a photo is any one you like.

People judge facial attractiveness from your features, so your expression makes little difference to a photo.

Smiling is often thought to be the most attractive facial expression, which is partly why most people smile in photos.

However, this study finds otherwise.

For the research, 128 people looked at a series of pictures of both men and women shown with different facial expressions.

They were shown happiness, fear, anger, disgust and surprise, as well as a neutral expression.

The men and women were given the same ratings for attractiveness, no matter what facial expression they displayed.

Bear in mind that this study only tested people in pictures.

If you were meeting someone face-to-face, then it will clearly matter if you smile or scowl.

But even when scowling it is obvious whether someone is good looking (or not).

The study’s authors conclude:

“Since the hard tissues of the face are unchangeable, people may still be able to perceive facial structure whatever expression the face is displaying, and still make attractiveness judgements based on structural cues.”

The study was published in the Journal of Nonverbal Behavior (Morrison et al., 2013).