Why do people seem more attractive to us when we drink alcohol?
It is common to notice how, after a night accompanied by a person you met at a party, you realize that you feel much less attracted when you see it in broad daylight. A possible explanation to this phenomenon could be due to this same absence of light, which certainly hides some imperfections.
But the number one responsible for this effect is well known: the alcohol . The more alcohol we consume, more attractive we tend to perceive the people around us , especially if our romantic-affective predisposition is high.
Alcohol and perception of sexual attractiveness
Indeed, there is an effect popularly known as "Beer glasses" , which increases libido and eliminates social inhibitions, causing us to have a greater predisposition to establish contact with people who would not attract us in a state of sobriety.
Alcohol determines your perception
Science explains the reason why the attraction to other people increases when we have drunk a few drinks. An investigation of the universities of Glasgow and Saint Andrews, revealed that Both women and men found 25% more attractive faces of the opposite sex compared to subjects who did not taste alcohol.
Another study carried out at Bristol University, pointed in the same direction: the participants of the research reported the attractiveness of other people as 10% higher 15 after having ingested 70 centiliters of beer (amount equivalent to three rods). It was also discovered that the sex of the other person did not influence the increase in the perception of attractiveness: men considered that other men were more attractive, and women than other women were more attractive, regardless of the sexual preferences of each participant.
Alcohol and symmetry, allies
Experts say that alcohol consumption upsets our perception about the attractiveness of other people because alters our ability to perceive the asymmetry in the face and body of other people . Usually, and without entering into other cultural conditions on beauty, one of the fundamentals of physical attractiveness is bilateral symmetry.
Other research at Roehampton University in London pointed out that alcohol inhibits our visual perception of asymmetries in other people. This reinforces the idea that alcohol acts as a symmetrizer, and therefore makes more attractive to the people we see in a drunken state.
Alcohol makes others more attractive ... but also to oneself
Some other notes: scientists from the Pierre Mendes-France Université de Paris, pointed out that the effect "beer glasses" works in a bidirectional way; in both ways: Alcohol not only improves the perception of the attractiveness of others, but also makes us feel more attractive to ourselves .
In this investigation, the experiment consisted of evaluate the self-perception of attractiveness of several participants who drank alcohol, compared to the control group who were given a drink that emulated alcohol, but did not really contain alcohol. Those who actually drank alcohol reported higher levels of perception of their own attractiveness compared to those who did not drink.
The conclusion of the matter seems obvious: it will be easier to establish a relationship with someone who has consumed alcohol than with someone who is sober, not only because of the disinhibition caused by alcohol but also because of the tendency to symmetrize the faces, and therefore perceive them as more attractive than they really are.
Yes, the next day maybe you get a disappointment .
Bibliographic references:
- Crowe LC, George WH, Alcohol and human sexuality: review and integration. Psychol Bull. 1989 May; 105 (3): 374-86.
