Cheerleader Effect
🇳🇴Cheerleader-effektenDefinition
The cheerleader effect is the tendency for people to be judged more attractive when seen in a group than when seen alone. The group 'averages out' individual quirks, and the brain latches onto the average face – which is typically perceived as more attractive than most individual faces.
Real-world example
Walker and Vul (2014) showed participants the same faces in two formats: alone and in group photos. The same person was consistently rated more attractive in the group photo. The effect appeared for both genders and was independent of whether the group consisted of familiar or unfamiliar people.
The effect explains why group photos are often more flattering than portraits, and why social media profile photos often show you surrounded by friends: you benefit from the group's average face.
Supplementary perspective
The phenomenon relates to 'hierarchical encoding': when the brain sees a group, it codes both individual features and the group average. Average faces are statistically more symmetrical and typical, and are therefore perceived as more attractive. The judgment then 'leaks' back onto individual members.
Practical advice
Recognize
- —Notice if the same person looks different alone than in a group.
- —Be aware that group photos lift the perception of everyone involved.
- —See if a first impression from social media holds up when you meet the person alone.
Counteract
- —Judge people based on individual encounters, not just group photos.
- —For important judgments: look at multiple photos in different contexts.
- —Don't over-read attractiveness from a single group photo.
Ethical use
- —In social media profile photos: be honest that group photos give a boost.
- —In marketing: avoid using the effect manipulatively to mask individual products.
- —In dating and recruiting: give candidates a chance to be seen individually.