This Personality Trait Can Actually Make Your Face Appear More Attractive
The quest to appear more attractive is something many of us think about, whether we openly admit it or not. And caring about personal appearance isn't as superficial as it seems — it can have real-world consequences. For instance, a 2006 study published in the American Economic Review found that employers were willing to offer physically attractive job applicants a 10.5% higher salary compared to those deemed less attractive. Similarly, attractive candidates are more likely to be elected into the U.S. House of Representatives, even over candidates who are considered highly likable or competent, according to a 2019 study published in American Politics Research.
But what makes someone's face appear more attractive? Is it eye color or how they do their makeup, or does it all come down to facial symmetry? While those features may play a role, new research proves that beauty really is more than skin-deep. A 2023 study published in PLOS One looked at personality traits and their effect on attractiveness. Of the traits studied, honesty was most likely to be correlated with perceived beauty.
Honesty can impact how you look to others
Researchers in the study came to their conclusion by presenting participants with personality descriptions that correlated with a variety of photographed faces. Some descriptions made the people in the photographs seem more honest and trustworthy, while other descriptions highlighted the person's dishonesty. Then, the participants were asked to rate the faces based on physical attractiveness. The researchers discovered that participants rated faces more favorably when they were said to have an honest personality. These results were consistent regardless of the photographed person's gender or clothing.
The study looked at other personality traits too, including creativity and aggressiveness. Creativity was found to have no effect on physical attractiveness, while aggressiveness made only male faces appear less attractive (female faces, on the other hand, were unaffected by the trait). As a result, honesty was considered to be a much bigger factor when judging people's appearances compared to other characteristics.
This isn't the first time honesty has been associated with physical attractiveness. A 2006 study published in the Journal of Research in Personality also concluded that people deemed to be honest were thought to be more good-looking. The study also found that honesty made people appear more physically "fit," "kind," and "feminine."
What's a trustworthy face, according to science?
In the 2023 study, strangers were thought to be more beautiful after research participants learned how honest they were. However, the opposite can also occur — in other words, certain facial features may make someone seem more honest and trustworthy based on unconscious bias.
A 2008 study published in Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience identified four facial features thought to be correlated with trustworthiness: high inner eyebrows, pronounced cheekbones, a wide chin, and a shallow nose sellion (the dip in the nose below the nose bridge). Yes, that means your natural bone structure might impact how honest you seem to others far before you've even had a chance to speak the truth — or tell a lie.
However, those four traits aren't the only factors people use when judging trustworthiness. Similarity can also play a major role, according to a 2022 study published in the journal Humanities and Social Sciences Communications. In this study, participants rated faces that looked like their own as being highly trustworthy. The researchers also cited a long-standing theory that people tend to be more attracted to people who look like themselves.
How to appear more honest (and more attractive)
Let's face it: Most people do, unfortunately, judge a book by its cover, and likewise, people make quick judgments about others related to their appearance. Acting in honest ways — by not lying, cheating, or breaking promises — is one strategy likely to make you seem more attractive to others. And it goes without saying that behaving in such a way can have a positive influence on your relationships.
But how can you appear more honest with people who you've just met? If physical features and trustworthiness are correlated, can you manipulate your face to elicit trust from strangers and new friends — and therefore appear more attractive? Some scientific findings say yes. "[There are] basic facial movements that people identify with specific social traits and these movements can override the default impression people have of another person's face," Dr. Daniel Gill, a researcher at the University of Glasgow's Institute of Neuroscience and Psychology, said of his study in a 2014 article published on the university's website. The study pinpointed specific actions that can make a face appear more trustworthy, including lifting the eyebrows — eyebrow mapping can help you get the shape right — and pulling back the lip muscles. Put simply, a soft, happy expression is more likely to seem kind and honest to others than a heavy or sullen look.