Got Beer Goggles?

Beer goggles; we’ve all had them on at some point.

I can admit I have had my fair share of “beer goggle” encounters but that’s a whole other post.

Check out this video to see the ultimate example of beer goggles. If you haven’t been there, I’m sure you have a friend who has. The scene is from the movie Beerfest and it’s hilarious. At least, I think it is.

Here’s what you already know:

“Everyone you meet is more attractive when you wear beer goggles.”

But…

Do people view THEMSELVES as more attractive?

I never thought about that until I read a fascinating study that analyzed how people view themselves through beer goggles.

Beer Goggle Definition

If you aren’t familiar with the term, beer goggles is slang for when drinking alcohol lowers your inhibitions to the point where your standards go out the window and members of the opposite sex who you wouldn’t consider approaching suddenly look “hot”.

Basically, “beer goggles” makes the opposite sex look especially attractive.

But….

Alcohol can also enhance self-perceptions.

Beer Goggles and Self Awareness

It’s a known fact that alcohol can affect your mood and make you horny; but there haven’t been many studies on alcohol and perceived self-attractiveness.

A study, “Beauty is in the eye of the beer holder’: People who think they are drunk also think they are attractive“, tested if alcohol consumption INCREASED self–perceived attractiveness.

I love that title by the way, “…eye of the BEER HOLDER”. Classic.

Anyway, the study set out to test the following:

1. Alcohol could lead to a general increase of perceived attractiveness.
2. Alcohol could produce more polarized responses such that attractive people would view themselves even more attractive, while unattractive people would judge themselves as even less attractive.

The “AM I HOTTER THE MORE I DRINK” Test

The first study to determine if people thought they were more attractive the more they drink was conducted in a bar in France.

The participants rated how attractive, bright, original, and funny they felt at the moment.

Then they were tested with a breathalyzer.

As expected, the higher the blood alcohol level (BAL), the more attractive the participants thought they were.

The results were consistent with the theory that intoxicated people, through their beer goggles, think they are more attractive than sober people do.

I don’t know if this test was really necessary because you can go to any bar in your town and see plenty of examples of people who think they are hot who are obviously drunk.

The Alcohol Placebo Test

Here’s where it gets interesting.

In this study participants were separated into two groups; one group drank a beverage that had alcohol in it while one group drank a beverage that had no alcohol in it.

Within each of these groups, half the participants were told their beverage had alcohol while half were told their beverage didn’t have alcohol.

The participants then delivered a message which was filmed, supposedly to be used in future advertisements for the beverage.

After watching the filmed message, the participants rated how attractive, bright, original, and funny they thought they were.

Results showed that participants who thought they had consumed alcohol expressed more positive self-evaluations than those who thought they had not consumed alcohol.

What’s fascinating is that the actual effect of the alcohol was not significant at all; it was the mind that had a greater impact.

People who had no alcohol, yet were told they were drinking alcohol rated themselves more attractive than those who actually drank alcohol but were told they weren’t drinking alcohol.

The results showed that alcohol expectancy, but not alcohol content, influenced self-evaluations of attractiveness.

Independent judges then rated the speeches.

The judges did not know which of the participants thought they had drunk alcoholic beverages.

The judges were able to accurately separate the people who had drank alcohol and those who did not drink alcohol. Whether the participants thought they were drinking alcohol or not wasn’t a factor.

This means the judges ratings were not influenced by expected or actual alcohol consumption by the participants.

Conclusion

The study concluded that when people drink alcohol, with beer goggles, they evaluate themselves as more attractive, or at least less unattractive.

This raises the question, why did people who were drinking non-alcoholic drinks boost their self-attractiveness?

One theory is that the mind may still become “intoxicated” if people expect to consume alcohol, even if they don’t consume a single drop.

The study also concluded that unattractive people in fact DO NOT think they are less attractive.

Everyone thinks they are more attractive after a few drinks

If you are on a date or out and about and have a couple of drinks, those beer goggles might come on, and suddenly you think you are George Clooney; think twice.

Remember, your perceived self attractiveness lies in the eyes of the ‘beer holder’ and is not shared by anyone else.

Sorry, had to put “beer holder” again; it’s so cheesy but funny.

Feel free to comment below if you have any thoughts on this post.