A new study has concluded that to look attractive, simply pair yourself up with a hot partner.

Scientists had 30 male and 30 female volunteers who all described themselves as straight, rate how attractive they found photos of 36 men and 36 women.

In all 144 pictures of men and women paired together were shown to the participants and quizzed how desirable they would find long-term relationships with members of the opposite sex in the pictures.

The scientists found that both male and female volunteers rated people in the pictures as more desirable when they were paired next to attractive companions. According to the reports of Live Science, by using cameras to track eye movements during the experiments, the researchers also saw that when volunteers spent more time looking at a potential mate''s unattractive partner, they were less interested in that mate.

Jessica Yorzinski, an evolutionary biologist at the University of California, Davis, said," Even though people were only asked to evaluate the potential mate in each photograph, they all spent a significant amount of time looking at the mate''s partner. Women spent more time looking at the partners that they found attractive, while men shifted their gaze back and forth more."

Yorzinski further noted," If the single person was previously seen with an attractive partner, this could still boost their chances. If you were a woman and a previous boyfriend was attractive and some other guy saw you with him, maybe that would increase your chances if you broke up and were available again. Or perhaps if women doing online dating Web sites are pictured with attractive boyfriends, that would help them get more responses with their ads." (With Input From Agencies)