Do you want to make yourself more attractive than others? A new study says that hanging out with friends who are less good looking than you are can make you stand out more in a crowd.

Researchers from the Royal Holloway University of London suggest that people judge your level of attractiveness depending on the people in your environment. This discovery debunks the notion that beauty is perceived differently and that attractiveness is a fixed preference. Instead, the study shows that your level of attractiveness changes depending on the people you surround yourself with.

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According to the lead author of the study, Nicholas Furl of the Royal Holloway University of London, until now, it has been thought that a person's level of attractiveness never changes. For example, if you saw a photo of George Clooney today, you will also rate him as good looking tomorrow. However, this new study reveals that the company we keep has a profound effect on how attractive we appear to other people.

Furl added that a person's beauty or level of attractiveness is significantly influenced by the social and cultural settings, and measuring this impact can be quite murky. The researchers sought to challenge the notion that beauty standards can vary and change due to environmental and social factors.

During experiments, Furl asked participants to rate different human faces based on their preference of attractiveness. Then, two attractive faces were placed beside those faces that seem less attractive and described as "distractor faces." When a distractor face appeared, participants became more critical in determining which face is more attractive.

Furl explains that a less attractive face not only increases one's level of beauty but when you are in a crowd of less attractive faces, this can make us even pickier or discerning. The team noted that the presence of a distractor face could make even the slightest difference in attractive people, and observers can pick out and identify these subtle differences, making them more judgmental.

This new study has been published in the journal Psychological Science.