- Does being drunk influence how attractive you find others?
Many unfortunate moments have been attributed to so-called beer glasses over the years.
But it seems that all those excuses from the morning after the night before no longer work.
Because scientists now believe that drinking alcohol doesn’t make others appear more attractive, it just gives people the confidence to approach someone they already find attractive.
In previous research on the beer glasses phenomenon, participants typically rated other people’s photos based on their attractiveness while sober and again after drinking.
In the last American study, a more realistic element was added: the possibility of complying with those evaluated.
Previous research on the beer glasses phenomenon typically had participants rate photos of other people based on their attractiveness while sober and again after drinking.
Dr. Molly Bowdring and Dr. Michael Sayette, from Stanford University, brought 18 pairs of male friends in their early 20s to have a drink in a lab and then rate the attractiveness of images of people.
The idea of using partners was to mimic the social interactions that would normally take place in a real drinking situation.
The team found that whether or not the participants were intoxicated had no effect on how good-looking others found them.
However, drinking did affect the likelihood that men would want to interact with people they found attractive.
The research, published in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, claims that offering the chance to meet or flirt with a “target” is where “alcohol exerts its impact.”
He suggested that the notion of beer glasses might actually mean “liquid courage”.
