Attraction relies on much more than your physical
appearance.
It's in the way you carry yourself, the people you hang out
with, and how you talk to people — plus a whole lot
more.
1. Be funny.
Multiple studies indicate that women are more attracted to
men who can make them laugh.
In one study , a psychologist asked men to tell a joke to
their friends at a bar while a woman sat at a nearby table
— and the guys who told jokes were three times as likely
to get her number as the people who didn't.
"The effect of a great sense of humor on women's
attractions might be partially explained by the fact that
funny people are considered to be more social and more
intelligent, things that women seek in a mate,"
anthropologist Gil Greengross writes.
2. Surround yourself with friends.
A 2014 study from the University of California at San
Diego found that people looked better when they were in a
group.
It's because our brains take the faces of a group of
people in aggregate, making each face look more
"average" — and attractive — as a result.
"Having a few wingmen or wingwomen may indeed be a
good dating strategy, particularly if their facial features
complement and average out one's unattractive
idiosyncrasies," authors Drew Walker and Edward Vul
write.
3. Skip the small talk.
In a 1997 study, State University of New York
psychologist Arthur Aron separated two groups of people
and paired them off, giving each duo 45 minutes to
answer a set of questions.
One question set was small talk, and the other was
increasingly probing. The people who asked deeper
questions felt more connected — and one couple fell in
love.
According to Harvard research, talking about yourself
stimulates the same brain regions as sex or a good
meal.
"Activation of this system when discussing the self
suggests that self-disclosure ... may be inherently
pleasurable," Scientific American reports .
4. Be a leader.
People are attracted to power. A 2014 study found that
people in a group think their group's leader is more
attractive than do people who aren't in the group.
A company's CEO will seem more attractive to employees
than to people outside the company.
"In contrast with research traditions that treat physical
attractiveness as a static trait, our findings highlight the
importance of group membership as a lens for perceiving
familiar leaders' physical attractiveness," conclude lead
author Kevin Kniffin and his colleagues.
5. Smile more.
In two experiments , researchers in Switzerland examined
the relationship between attractiveness and smiling.
They found that the stronger the smile, the more attractive
a face looked.
In fact, a happy facial expression compensated for relative
unattractiveness.
6. Own a dog.
In a University of Michigan experiment , women read
vignettes about men. Whenever the story featured a
person who owned a dog, women rated that person as a
more suitable partner in the long-term.
The researchers concluded that owning a pet signaled that
you're nurturing and capable of making long-term
commitments. It also makes you appear more relaxed,
approachable, and happy.
7. Be nice.
A 2014 Chinese study of 120 people found that when
people hear about how nice somebody is, they find the
person's face more attractive.
"Personality characteristics may be linked to facial
attractiveness, such that positive personality
characteristics can promote facial attractiveness, whereas
negative personality characteristics can reduce facial
attractiveness," write authors Yan Zhang, Fanchang Kong,
Yanli Zhong, and Hui Kou.
8. Live in a high-status place.
In a Cardiff Metropolitan University study , a man was
photographed with a casual posture in a "high status"
luxury apartment and a "neutral status" standard
apartment context. The high-status men received a much
higher attractiveness rating.
The researchers say there's an evolutionary element at
work: High-status men appear more capable of taking
care of a family, making them more attractive.
9. Play good music.
In a study from 2014 , researchers asked 1,500 women
with an average age of 28 to listen to simple and
complex pieces of music and rate the attractiveness of
the composer.
The results found that women preferred the more complex
music.
"The ability to create complex music could be indicative of
advanced cognitive abilities," said author Benjamin
Charlton, a lecturer at University College, Dublin.
"Consequently, women may acquire genetic benefits for
offspring by selecting musicians able to create more
complex music as sexual partners."
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