9 facial traits that make someone more attractive ...

9 facial traits that make someone more attractive, according to science · 1. Symmetry · 2. Asymmetry · 3. Averageness · 4. Looking older · 5. Facial ... 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H M S Inthenews Closeicon Twocrossedlinesthatforman'X'.Itindicatesawaytocloseaninteraction,ordismissanotification. Chevronicon Itindicatesanexpandablesectionormenu,orsometimesprevious/nextnavigationoptions. HOMEPAGE Subscribe Subscribe Home Chevronicon Itindicatesanexpandablesectionormenu,orsometimesprevious/nextnavigationoptions. Science 9facialtraitsthatmakesomeonemoreattractive,accordingtoscience LindsayDodgson Updated 2018-05-21T15:15:00Z FacebookIcon TheletterF. Emailicon Anenvelope.Itindicatestheabilitytosendanemail. Twittericon Astylizedbirdwithanopenmouth,tweeting. Twitter LinkedInicon Theword"in". LinkedIn Fliboardicon AstylizedletterF. Flipboard Linkicon Animageofachainlink.Itsymobilizesawebsitelinkurl. CopyLink Downloadtheapp NoahBuscher/Unsplash It'ssometimeshardtopinpointexactlywhatitisthatattractsustosomeone.Itmightbetheirconfidence,ortheirsenseofhumour,oryoumightjustlikethewaytheylook. Alotofresearchovertheyearshasgoneintotryingtoworkoutwhatitisthatmakesusfancyeachother.Resultshavevaried,showingwomenmaylikethesmellofmenwhohaveaparticularkindofdiet,andmenmayfindwomeningroupsmoreattractive.Someresearchhassuggestedweoftengoforpeoplewhosharesomeofthesamecharacteristicswedo.We'velookedatanumberofastudiestotryandgettothebottomofwhatmakesuslikethelookofonepersonoveranother.Hereare9facetraitsthatcanmakesomeonemoreattractivetous,accordingtoscience. 1.Symmetry RodolfoSanchesCarvalho/Unsplash StudiessuchasthisonepublishedintheJournalofComparativePsychology,andthisonepublishedintheJournalofEvolution&HumanBehaviour,haveshownthatinexperimentalconditions,menandwomenbothpreferfacesthataremoresymmetrical.Astudyonidenticaltwins foundthatthetwinwithamoresymmetricalfacewasconsideredmoreattractive.Evenmacaquemonkeyshavebeenobservedgazinglongeratsymmetricalfacesthanasymmetricalones.Oneconclusionscientistshavereachedtoexplainthisisthatinevolutionaryterms,wemayconsiderasymmetricalfacearesultofgoodhealth.Havingafacethatdevelopedinasymmetricalwaycouldshowyouhave"goodgenes,"becauseyoudevelopedmoresuccessfullyinthefaceofenvironmentalpressureswhenyouwereinthewomb.However,in2014,researchfromBrunelUniversityinLondon comparedfacialsymmetryofabout5,000teenagers,andfoundtherewasnocorrelationbetweensymmetryandoverallhealth. 2.Asymmetry FrazerHarrison/GettyImages It'snotanabsoluterule,though.Infact,youcanprobablythinkofmanycelebritiesyoufancywhodon'thavesymmetricalfacesatall.Sometimes,likeinthecaseofMiloVentimiglia,acrookedsmileiswhataddstosomeone'scharm.Infact,absolutesymmetrycanmakepeoplelookprettyweird.Whenattractivecelebrities'facesaremadetolooksymmetrical,theydon'tlookquiteright. 3.Averageness JankoFerlič/Unsplash Peopletendtolikefacesthataredistinctlyaverage,orthosethatresembleothersinthegeneralpopulation.In1878,apaperinNaturefirstnotedthatabunchoffacesblendedtogetherwasconsideredmoreattractivethanthoseontheirown.Onestudy,publishedinthejournalHumanNature,argueditcouldbebecauseaveragefacesrepresentamorediversesetofgenes,whichisoftenageneticadvantageinfightingoffillnessesandparasites. 4.Lookingolder PascalLeSegretain/GettyImages Astudyin2012,publishedintheJournalofEvolutionaryPsychology,foundthatwomenprefermenwholookolder.Themorefinanciallyindependentwomenbecame,themoretheysaidtheylikedolderguys,accordingtothestudy.Oneexplanationforwhatresearchershavecoinedthe"GeorgeClooneyEffect"couldbethatwomenareonlyfertilefrompubertytomenopause,whilemencanfatherachilduntilmuchlater.Womenmaygetabetterofferbywaitinguntilthemanhasmorestatusandresourcesduetobeingolder. 5.Facialhair JosephGonzalez/Unsplash Somepeopleloveabushybeard,whereasothersgoforclean-shavenmen.Astudyin2013recruited177menand351womentolookatpicturesofmenwhohadnofacialhair,lightstubble,heavystubble,orafullbeard.Theresultsshowedthatwomenthoughtthemostattractivebeardlengthisheavystubble,orabout10daysofgrowth.Heavybeards,lightstubble,andcleanshavenwereallequallylessattractivethanheavystubble. 6.Facialscars WarnerBros. Thisonedependsonifyou'reattractedtomenorwomen.Onestudy,publishedinthejournalPersonalityandIndividualDifferences,foundthatmencouldbeconsideredmoreattractiveiftheyhadafacialscar,whereasthiswasn'tfoundforwomen.Researcherstookphotosof24maleand24femalestudentsandmanipulatedthemtolookliketheyhadscarsontheirfaces.Then,another200studentswereaskedtoratehowattractivethephotoswere,andwhethertheythoughtthepersonwouldbegoodforashortorlong-termrelationship.Menwithscarswereratedasmoreattractiveforshort-termrelationshipsthanmenwithoutscars.Therewasnodifferenceinhowattractivewomenwerewithorwithoutscars. 7.Familiarity DaniVivanco/Unsplash Accordingtoonestudy,publishedinCurrentBiology,geneticsmightnothavemuchtodowithit.Theresearchersfoundthatthetypesoffaceswefancyareinfluencedmorebyourpersonalexperiencesinlifethananythingelse.Thestudyfoundthatidenticaltwinshaddifferentideasofwhotheythoughtwasattractive,suggestingageneticpredispositionwasn'tafactor.Overall,geneticsexplainedjustafifthofthevariationinpeople'spreferences.Theauthorsconcludedthattheseresultscouldexplainhowmodelsandcelebritiescanmakemoneyfromtheirgoodlooks,whilefriendsconstantlydisagreeaboutwhoistotheirtaste. 8.Simplicity GettyImages Astudyfrom2016foundthatratherthanmenhavingapreferenceforcertainfeatureslikelipsoreyes,theywentformoreofanoveralllook.Theresearchersrecruited169meninFranceandshowedthemtwosetsofrandomwomen'sfaces.Theywereaskedtoratethemonascaleofzeroto20intermsofattractiveness.Resultsshowedthatoverall,thefacesthemenfoundmostattractivewere"sparselycoded"—thatmeanstheonesthatweresymmetrical,moreplain,andhadnodistinguishingfeatures. 9.Lookinglikeyourparents HrecheniukOleksii/Shutterstock Someresearchsuggeststhatwetendtofindpeoplewholooklikeouroppositesexparentattractive.AccordingtoresearchfromStAndrews,weareattractedtothefeaturesthatourparentshadwhenwewereborn,possiblybecauseweseethemasourfirstcaregiver,andassociatepositivefeelingswiththeirfeatures.Inonestudyfrom2002,researchersaskedparticipantstoratehowattractivefacesofdifferentageswere."Wefoundthatwomenbornto'old'parents(over30)werelessimpressedbyyouth,andmoreattractedtoagecuesinmalefacesthanwomenwith'young'parents(under30),"theauthorswrote."Formen,preferencesforfemalefaceswereinfluencedbytheirmother'sageandnottheirfather'sage,butonlyforlong-termrelationships."Also,inafollowupstudy,asampleof697menandwomenshowedpeopleweremorelikelytohaveromanticpartnerswhohadthesameeyeandhaircolourastheiropposite-sexparents. Dealicon Aniconintheshapeofalightningbolt. Keepreading Newsletter Getadailyselectionofourtopstoriesbasedonyourreadingpreferences. Loading Somethingisloading. Emailaddress Byclicking‘Signup’,youagreetoreceivemarketingemailsfromInsider aswellasotherpartneroffersandacceptour TermsofServiceand PrivacyPolicy. SEEALSO: Loveandobsessionaretwodifferentthings—here'showtotellthemapart More: Features Attraction Relationships Psychology Science Love Sociology Genetics Chevronicon Itindicatesanexpandablesectionormenu,orsometimesprevious/nextnavigationoptions. Closeicon Twocrossedlinesthatforman'X'.Itindicatesawaytocloseaninteraction,ordismissanotification. RecommendedVideo