Effect on others: You are more attractive than you think

Strange effect
That's why you appear more attractive to others than you think

Most people tend to be more self-critical when it comes to looks. Her hair is too thin, her stomach too thick, her legs too short … Even a top model will probably find something about herself that she doesn't like. How good that others don't even notice it. Because a study shows that we often look at ourselves more critically than our surroundings. That in itself is probably not a groundbreaking insight for you right now. The reason why that is, but probably already.

We just know each other too well

Nicholas Epley, a behavioral scientist at the University of Chicago, and Tal Eyal, a psychologist at Israel's Ben Gurion University, have investigated why you see yourself differently from others. The result: It is because we know each other much better, that is, we have more information about ourselves. Others evaluate us on a completely different basis, don't look at every little detail because they can't. And think a lot less about us than we think.

The trick to looking at yourself the way others do is to get rid of this detailed information and just see what is there. Isn't your hair actually pretty nice? You wear glasses, doesn't that seem smart? And don't you have really polite manners? Your counterpart will not see more of you at first. So distance to yourself is the key to knowing how others see you. According to researchers, for example, you would rate a video or photo of yourself better if you didn't look at it immediately on the day it was shot. Try it out!

Be confident when you meet others

What do we learn from it? That others literally see us with different eyes. Either way: we have no reason to be small. And on this occasion, maybe we can start by standing in front of the mirror and saying out loud: Yes, damn it – I'm really great!