Cheerleader effect
Also known as Group attractiveness effect
The cheerleader effect is the tendency for people to look more attractive in a group than when seen alone. One explanation is that the brain averages the faces in a group, and averaged faces tend to look more appealing.
Lab studies find only a small boost in rated attractiveness, and researchers still debate how reliable the effect is and what causes it.
In everyday life
The members of a five-piece band seem a bit better-looking on stage together than each one does alone in a solo interview.
On a dating app, someone seems quite attractive in a photo with four friends, but a little more ordinary when you open their solo pictures.
Why your mind does this
Trusting people and things we know is usually safe, because familiarity means we have dealt with them before without harm. Favoring our own group helped our ancestors cooperate with the people they depended on. Liking what is close and known also saves the effort of judging everything from scratch.
Its family, in 30 seconds: Familiar is better
How to spot it
Ask whether you would find this person as striking if you saw them on their own.
How to counter it
Look at individual photos, or meet people one on one, before forming an impression of their looks.
Same family: Familiar is better
SourcesWalker & Vul (2014)·Wikipedia