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Science Beer Goggles proven to work by British psychologists
Science Beer Goggles proven to work by British psychologists | Beer Goggles proven to work by British psychologists |
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| by William Atkins | |
| Saturday, 16 August 2008 | |
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Page 3 of 3 The Bristol psychologists concluded, “Alcohol consumption increases ratings of attractiveness of facial stimuli, and this effect is not selective for opposite-sex faces. In addition, the effects of alcohol consumption on ratings of attractiveness persist for up to 24 h [hours] after consumption, but only in male participants when rating female (i.e. opposite-sex) faces.” Munafo states, "Everyone knows about beer goggles. But some of our results suggest that there's more going on than we might have thought." For instance, Munafo stated the discovery that the relationship is not limited to the opposite sex was unexpected and surprising. The researchers surmise that alcohol may make "all" people look more attractive than they really are when in a sober state. They also wonder if the "Beer Goggle" effect may extend to other things besides just humans. Munafo states, "The main question is whether these effects are specific to faces, or whether we would rate anything as more attractive after a drink.” The researchers now are extending this research to see if people drinking alcohol will also see other things as more attractive, such as plants and flowers, Earth features such as mountains and rivers, and animals such as dogs and cats--actually anything could be used to test this "attractiveness-alcohol" connection. The purpose behind their studies is to generate more information on the negative effects of drinking. Munafo states, “It's also surprising to see this effect is happening at lower doses than you might think. We're trying to build up a more complete picture of what happens when people go out for a drink, and we're interested in certain behaviors that are more common after drinking, such as unsafe sex, or violence. If this effect is happening at lower doses than expected, it might be helpful for people who are predisposed to such behaviors to anticipate those situations and prevent them." You can see the Beer Goggle Effect in action at the YouTube video “Beer Goggles.” And listen and watch Neal McCoy sing “Billy's got His Beer Goggles On,” also at YouTube.
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