Sorry, Study Says Beer Googles Aren't Real

A study conducted in real-life bars found no evidence that "beer goggles" are real.

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Complex Original

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Researchers from Bristol University stepped out of the laboratory and into the pub for their latest study on how alcohol consumption affects whether or not you think your gap-toothed neighbor at the bar is a real looker.,Talking and interviewing over 300 people from three different pubs, psychologist Olivia Maynard and her team found no evidence that beer goggles are real.

In the experiment, the team asked participants to rate faces based on attractiveness on a tablet computer, and then recorded the blood alcohol level of each individual.,They found that there's no relationship between drinking more and finding people more attractive.

But I have some bones to pick with this argument. First of all, did they ask people at the bar how attractive those faces were before they started drinking? We need that point of comparison. If they rated someone low on the hot-or-not scale, had a few drinks, came back, and then claimed to be in love with that person, that's the kind of scientific data we need to know.

Still, Maynard said the study reached its goal of using "naturalistic design," and encouraged other scientists to get outside and talk to subjects using "ecologically valid" methodologies.,

[via the Daily Mail]

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