hey everyone and welcome to top think have you ever wondered if you're good looking
have you well today we're going to put your looks to the test now let's begin
few traits are as widely desired as physical attraction it's no secret that beautiful
people have an advantage over the rest of the world according to a 2011 study from
the royal society of london your looks affect a wide range of important social situations
researchers call this the attractiveness halo an attractiveness halo looks something like this
just imagine walking into a job interview meeting a stranger for the first time
in the first few seconds that stranger makes all kinds of judgments about your personality
your status and your intelligence but they don't know anything about you so they judge you solely
on your looks and the better you look the better judgment that you're going to get in this way
beauty improves first impressions new friendships and social exchanges people will assume you're
more intelligent generous and successful than the average person hey no one wants to admit how
biased they are but the data speaks for itself countless studies including our 2011 experiment
have shown just how powerful beauty can be so how do you know whether you fall into this illustrious
category how do you know if you're good looking well most people judge their appearance by looking
in the mirror or staring at photos of themselves but the truth is most people don't know how good
looking they really are why is that well that's because your self-perception is extremely biased
this bias stems from three different places the first is something very simple
familiarity how many times have you looked at your own face thousands of times right you're
incredibly familiar with your own face and more familiar than anyone on the planet except maybe
a long-term partner now doesn't that mean you should know your attractiveness better than anyone
it's actually the opposite increased familiarity blinds you you're so accustomed to seeing your
own face that you can't accurately analyze your looks according to a 2019 study in the journal
frontiers in psychology familiarity overrides your brain's objective judgment in other words
you're so familiar with your own face that you can't tell how attractive you really are but
a stranger can that's why the best judges aren't your friends families or partners but individuals
you've never met emotional bias is another reason we can't recognize our own attractiveness
the way we feel about ourselves influences the way we perceive ourselves that's why some good looking
people think they're unattractive or vice versa your emotional connection controls the way you
see yourself it works the same way for friends and partners their emotional connection to you
changes the way they perceive you in other words if you love someone they'll seem more attractive
to you than a random stranger in the same way your experiences also bias your perception well let's
say you just went through a difficult breakup that situation is going to impact how attractive
you think you are even though you look the same as you did before the experience changed your mindset
and your mindset altered your perception there's one more reason you don't know how good looking
you actually are when you look in the mirror your eye is drawn to small details you notice the odd
curl in your hair you notice the dry skin on your cheek or the angle of your nose if anything's out
of place you're sure to find it but strangers will never notice small details about you
instead a stranger judges your attractiveness based on broad categories things like height
weight and hair color when judging yourself you're incredibly specific when judging other people you
rely on the same general qualities now to see this process in action just try this find a picture of
a stranger that you find attractive look at the picture for just a few seconds and then list
the reasons why they appeal to you i'm willing to bet the curls in their hair the dry patches
on their skin or the angle of their nose won't be on your list instead you'll say things like
they have a nice smile or they have beautiful eyes maybe you notice their height eyebrows or skin
tone nine times out of ten attractiveness does not recognize specific details instead it measures how
well you stack up against general widely appealing traits so how do you test your own attractiveness
well you analyze yourself like a stranger using this test you'll objectively unravel the biases
that alter your perspective and that way you'll know once and for all whether you're good looking
according to the same 2011 study attractiveness boils down to a handful of primary categories
so let's divide our test into four questions depending on your answers
you'll know how attractive you really are but there's one more thing we need
to mention first attractiveness doesn't work the same way for every person in the world
everyone has their own individual preferences different cultures countries and communities
prioritize specific traits over others some may disagree heavily with the questions on this test
at the end of the day remember that beauty is in the eye of the beholder
this test will measure general attractiveness but there are all kinds of reasons
why one person may find another attractive with that out of the way let's get started the first
question on our test comes from human evolution it's a preference very few people recognize yet
the human brain is inexplicably drawn to the first question is how symmetrical is your face
symmetry is an attractive quality we often ignore it would be strange to compliment someone on the
symmetry of their face right but your brain processes symmetry every time it encounters
another person in fact there are special areas of your brain that process symmetry in the blink of
an eye but aren't all human faces symmetrical yeah you'd think so right but few faces actually are
so what about models and celebrities these symmetrical faces are appealing in the same way
a symmetrical room or painting is pleasing to the eye to your brain symmetry is balanced complete
and attractive but how can you tell whether or not your face is symmetrical just take a photo of your
face now cover the right half of your face with your hand now look at the placement of your eyes
the height of your ears the edges of your hairline now switch your hand to the left side of your face
does it match or are your features a little out of place using this simple technique you
can analyze your appearance like a stranger and figure out how attractive you really are
question number two is a bit trickier have you ever heard someone say you look pretty average
most of the time it means you're not that attractive but researchers found that averageness
is one of the most attractive traits averageness describes how similar your face looks to the rest
of the population yeah i know it sounds bad to be average but studies show that averageness improves
your physical appearance on the other hand people with extreme irregular or prominent features
are usually considered unattractive but why is it good to look like everyone else this neurological
preference comes from genetics the world is filled with different looking people because the world
is filled with diverse genetic combinations some feature long skinny faces and pointy chins others
create squat round faces with larger eyes but in the middle of these facial extremes is one genetic
average and that average is widely considered the most attractive combination there is
so if you look average your appearance comes from a blend of genetics which are often healthier and
more resistant to disease this is not something you consciously consider but your brain does
your brain is drawn to average looking people so how average are you well to answer this
question identify your most extreme features the fewer you have the more attractive you may be
now our third question revolves around a wide category of physical traits researchers call
them secondary sexual characteristics simply put these features identifies someone as masculine
or feminine for men think facial hair strong jawbones and longer shakes for women think rounder
faces softer features and larger lips each group emphasizes the individual traits of both men and
women so many of the world's most attractive people have these characteristics in spades
now of course there are attractive people who lack any secondary sexual characteristics
personal preference does play a major role in this category but the human brain is rigged with
the preference for these traits in evolutionary terms they suggest power fertility and status
to the average person they're symbols of desire athleticism and sex appeal so if you want to
know how good looking you are just count your secondary sexual characteristics break your
face down into individual features you may realize you have more of these qualities than you thought
the fourth and final question is this how well does your appearance display your personality
now this one works a bit differently unlike the others it's not a quality or characteristic
it doesn't matter if you have pretty eyes or great bone structure research shows that understanding
someone's personality plays a huge role in physical preference even between strangers
but i'm not talking about your hobbies or interests or routines i'm talking about
the way you communicate your personality through your appearance just think about the expressions
on your face think about the way you dress or the accessories you place on your body each of these
things makes you more attractive because they show your personality so how would a stranger perceive
your personality without ever meeting you could someone get a basic understanding of you as a
person if the answer is yes you have one of the most attractive qualities out there hey thank you
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