You know that person you see walking around on campus? The one you think is really hot? It turns out you should get to know them.

When most people think of attractiveness, they tend to think of physical attraction as inherently different from personality. However, according to a recent psychological study, your perception of the two may be more closely linked than you think.

According to the Psychology Today article “Is Your Personality Making You More or Less Attractive?” an individual can appear to be more or less physically attractive based on his or her personality traits.

This concept is not just a matter of speculation; Swami and colleagues published a study in 2010 in which they asked male participants to rate the attractiveness of women in pictures. The participants were shown pictures of women of many different body types, some of which were paired with personality traits, either positive or negative.

In the pictures that were not paired with any descriptive words, participants agreed on the “most attractive” body type. On looks alone, guys tend to agree on what constitutes “attractiveness.”

Interestingly, the participants that were given pictures paired with positive personality traits indicated that a broader range of body types was attractive. Participants that were given pictures paired with negative personality traits indicated that they found a smaller range of body types attractive.

Swami’s is not the only study with these findings. A 2007 study that utilized both men and women participants found that both genders rated others as more attractive when they were paired with positive personality traits and as less attractive when they were paired with negative personality traits.

These findings show that both men and women do in fact find those with more pleasant personalities as more attractive than those with unpleasant personalities.

So, what do these studies really tell us about the way we perceive each other?

Apparently, people are not really as superficial as you might think, even if they don’t mean to be. “Good looking” people might get asked out more often by those that don’t know them well, but their looks will only get them so far.

After initial physical attraction, we can become more or less physically attracted to our peers. Although these studies are certainly interesting, I don’t really think they are all that surprising.

I have heard multiple times from different people that someone who they didn’t find all that attractive initially is “growing on