People who are kind are seen as more attractive, boffins claim.
Scientists have looked at the non-physical reasons why someone might be perceived as good-looking.
They discovered that being thought of as intelligent or funny can increase an individual’s aesthetic appeal.
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But being perceived as generous and altruistic – showing genuine concern for other people – made people the most attractive.
Dr Natalia Kononov of Tel Aviv University, who led the research, said: “We discovered that people who are kind to others are judged as more beautiful.
(Image: Getty Images)
“So beauty really isn’t just skin deep – being a good person can make you look better too.”
In a study, published in the British Journal of Social Psychology, two groups were given a description of a “candidate”.
One was told they volunteered at a soup kitchen or packed food for the needy whilst the other group were told the person lacked such qualities.
After being introduced to the candidates those described as kind were consistently ranked higher in terms of looks, beating those who were classes as funny or intelligent.
Dr Kononov said: “We did expect to see a connection between prosocial behaviour and attractiveness, but we were surprised by how consistently the effect held across both men and women, whether they were the ones being judged or doing the judging.”
She said the findings made sense from an evolutionary perspective when it came to finding a mate.
Dr Kononov added: “Being helpful, generous and co-operative is beneficial in social and survival contexts. These traits signal that someone could be a reliable, long-term partner.”
But she said the team were also surprised by how much it trumped being clever or funny.
She said: “We didn’t expect it to surpass intelligence and humour by such a margin.
“This finding opens the door to a broader question about which traits people prioritise when evaluating others.
“While our study doesn’t directly answer that question, it does suggest that, at least when it comes to beauty evaluations, kindness carries more weight than we might have assumed.”