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How to Instantly Become More Attractive, According to New Wharton Research

How to Instantly Become More Attractive, According to New Wharton Research

Americans spend more $420 billion per year trying to look more beautiful. And not just because they are vain or looking for love.

Fair or not research shows “quite a privilege“very real. Being perceived as attractive will not only help you get a date, but will also help you get ahead. Beautiful people are considered more trustworthy. smarterand more capable simply because they look like them.

This means you probably shouldn’t feel shallow about shell out a stupid amount for skin care products or gym membership if it makes you feel more confident. But are there other, more subtle ways to look more attractive that don’t require complicated beauty or fitness routines?

A new study from the Wharton School has just identified one of them, and I have to say that it is some of the best research I have ever come across. They found it easy be kindyou can instantly make yourself more attractive to others.

Beautiful actions make you more beautiful.

If you need convincing that this research is relevant for a business website, then just look who conducted it. Natalia Konovaauthor of the study recently published in British Journal of Social Psychology, in marketing and is now doing research at the prestigious Wharton School of Business.

A number of previous studies have shown that when people are attractive, we tend to attribute other positive qualities to them, e.g. intelligence and kindnessthem too. Together with her colleagues, Konova wanted to see if this so-called “halo effect” worked and vice versa. Does being a beautiful person make other people think you are physically beautiful?

To find out, the team designed a series of experiments that tested how people’s behavior affected others’ assessments of their attractiveness. For example, if they told me about someone kind and cooperative actions make people rate them as more beautiful?

After ten different experiments involving more than 4,000 people, the answer was clear and consistent. The kinder you act, the more beautiful you appear. And the more consistently kind you are (the more kindness is seen as a fundamental part of your character), the greater the impact it has on how other people judge your appearance.

“Beautiful actions really make us see people as more beautiful” Kononov sums up the results on PsyPost.

This was true regardless of gender, and the effect was not small.

“We thought that prosociality would play a significant role, but we did not expect it to surpass qualities such as intelligence and humor,” continues Kononov. “It’s interesting because while people often consider humor and intelligence to be very attractive traits, kindness may actually have a stronger impact on how attractive a person appears.”

How to improve your attractiveness and mental health

You don’t need a PhD to interpret these results. If you want to impress a potential romantic partner, investor, or potential salesperson, you should consider showing off your kindness along with a shiny new hairstyle or wardrobe. (As a very nice bonus, you can cite a lot of other studies, kindness makes you happier And more stable too much.)

The human brain is filled irrational quirks. Among them is that we clearly do not judge inner and outer beauty separately. When one is attractive, we are more likely to have a positive impression of the other. Use this to your advantage.

Kindness, unlike new creams or clothes, is free, instantly available, and psychologically good for you. It’s also almost guaranteed to make you look more attractive.

The opinions expressed here by Inc.com reviewers are their own and not those of Inc.com.