Individuals appear significantly more physically attractive when they are part of a group rather than when viewed in isolation, a perceptual illusion known as the cheerleader effect.

A closer look

Individuals appear significantly more physically attractive when they are part of a group rather than when viewed in isolation, a perceptual illusion known as the cheerleader effect. Your lazy brain basically averages out the facial features of everyone in the group, mathematically blending away individual asymmetrical flaws to create a composite perception of overall hotness. This perfectly explains why you can go to a crowded bar and be dazzled by an entire squad of people, only to look at their individual tagged photos later and realize they are all just aggressively average. It is a fantastic evolutionary loophole that encourages socialization by literally making you look prettier just by standing near your friends, proving that the ultimate wingman is just the concept of mathematical facial averaging