Cosmopolitan

Friday, August 20, 2010

Beer-goggles explained

Ever had a hot hook-up on a boozy night out, then realised the next day your hot hook-up was actually not hot at all? You can thank your beer-goggles.

British researchers from Oxford University have discovered why drinking alcohol makes other people look better – and it all has to do with symmetry. Apparently human’s have a greater preference for symmetrical faces. Bad news for women? We get more affected by beer goggles than men!

By nature, humans find symmetry attractive, but alcohol affects the part of the brain that is capable of detecting symmetry. As a result, when the blood's alcohol content increases, the brain gets confused and begins to believe that every person around has more symmetrical, aesthetically pleasant faces.

The study was conducted over a group of over 200 students. First, the researchers showed each student twenty pairs of faces, one symmetrical, and the other asymmetrical. The students were asked to choose the most attractive face. Then one by one, they showed the same students twenty individual faces and asked them to judge if the face was symmetrical or asymmetrical.

The result showed that intoxicated students had difficulty making these choices, while sober students didn't, having a clear preference for symmetrical faces. Among the students, women were the most affected.

While the study didn’t exactly explain why women are more affected by the dreaded beer goggles, the suggestion was made that men are more visually oriented than women.

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