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Randy Dotinga writes: If you're looking for a hook-up, a few drinks can suddenly make other people seem more attractive -- and receptive -- than they actually are, according to two new studies that help explain the "beer goggle" effect.
First, a suds-soaked fog diminishes a guy’s ability to detect facial symmetry, a crucial component of what we think of as human beauty. When this sense is dulled, an average-looking face may seem like it belongs to a hottie, suggests research on drunk college kids in the journal Alcohol.
To make matters even worse, another study shows liquor makes guys more likely to misinterpret a friendly female glance as a bold come-on.
"The average guy tends to perceive more women as being sexually interested after a few drinks and be more likely to make mistakes about what a woman feels," says study co-author Teresa Treat, an associate professor at the University of Iowa whose finding appears in the Journal of Abnormal Psychology.
On the other hand, Treat found that alcohol does not affect a man's ability to differentiate between modest clothing (jeans and a sweatshirt) and come-hither attire (a short skirt and tight top).
The researchers came to their conclusions after doing their best to approximate boy-meets-girl-over-drinks scenarios without actually going to a bar.
In the experiment, 59 young men looked at photos of young women. (Ah, the sweet life of a research subject.) Previously, men and women had deemed the photo subjects to be sexually interested or just friendly and more provocatively dressed or less provocatively dressed.
The male subjects looked at the photos while sober and then after they'd downed vodka cocktails and gotten a bit shy of legally wasted. While the study design didn't allow researchers to come up with specific statistics, it's fair to say that the drinks moderately disrupted the men's ability to interpret sexual signals, Treat explains.
This matters because misinterpreting a woman's signals "could be associated with men making an advance that's not reciprocated," Treat says. That could lead to damaged egos or worse, like date rape, she says.
What's going on? When people drink, they struggle to interpret things that are subtle and demand more thinking, says Robert F. Leeman, an associate research scientist at Yale University. It appears that sexual signals -- confusing in the best of times -- fit into those categories.
What to do? Women who want to just have a good time -- and not go home with a guy -- would be smart to dress conservatively, says University of Texas psychology professor Kim Fromme. "That's the more obvious cue."
In other words: Make sure you send signals that can be picked up even through a boozy blur.
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Do the "findings" in this article really surprise anybody?? I mean really, anybody?? I only hope our tax dollars didn't fund this. The next article will relate which drinks are most effective.
They seem to corroborate my own extensive research done over many years. LOL
LOL I thought the exact same thing!!! Nice to have our findings validated!
I think we all figured this out when we were in high school/college. It's probably a safe assumption to say we all have had a morning when we woke up and understood how a coyote can gnaw it's arm off when stuck.
seriously, not one but two studies?! how do I get funding for the obvious? the good news is I know msn and today will do an article on it to fill space.
I concur with these findings; I have spent millions of dollars on my own private research--then did studies on sexual signals myself. I have found through countless hours of drinking alone while staring out at hundreds of beautiful women from the darkest corner in the back of the room, that they are unbelievably attracted to me. I will catch them continually stealing glances at me and raising an eye brow with a half puzzled "is he into me too?" look on their face. Sometimes, they become so aware of my dazed unbreakable eye-locking stare while I slowly mouth under my breath the unforgivable things I want to do to them, that they begin to perspire from the extreme attraction and eventually leave to cool down. Every once in awhile, they will come back with a friend to approach me and ask me very directly why am I staring at them so much. I know that they are too shy to do it by themselves. Usually I know this is my cue to go for the close; my personal favorite being a nipple flick accompanied by a sexy ~*wink*~. The most typical response is her showing me how much she wants to touch my sopping wet, booze dribbling, face. She does it quickly due to being extremely shy, so fast that it knocks some of the ketchup and onion ring crumbs out of my grizzly man beard. That is when I know it is time to escalate the heat of the moment even further while she is still into me. I know she wants to take me home and that it is cold outside; so being a gentleman I pull off my black trench coat and wrap her from head to toe in it. I am somewhat of a romantic so I enjoy picking her up and whisking her out the door, more often than not having to drag the heavier ones on the ground… I am making groundbreaking discoveries every day over here as a Grad student at the University of Washington, I am excited…and looking forward to showing you all my video documentation of the Udub wilder beasts (fatticus womenus) from the bushes and bathroom windows
You sound like my kind of guy. ;)
Now, to do the research on women: before and after they have a few drinks. Do they get more recptive, send out more signals, and want a one nighter? I just hope my tax dollars arent spent on this.
The Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) funds most of the anti-male feminist research. Billions of dollars wasted just to call men rapists and absolve women of any responsibility of social interactions with men.
Apparently, Denali, you have misinterpreted a few women.
Denali has a point. My girlfriend recently went to a Sexual Violence seminar where they told everyone that even one drink removes a woman's ability to consent with sound mind. Therefore, they said that any woman having sex after a drink can be considered a rape victim.
My girlfriend walked out . . . but jokes about it whenever we share a glass of wine.
Shorter Denali: "WHY WON'T WOMEN SLEEP WITH ME?!?!"
Wow ! Who would have ever imagined that ? What an amazing study ! Stay tuned for the follow up study to determine if women start looking better to men around closing time................................
thats what the study was about there genius.
Sounds more like a subject for a country-western tune, maybe out of Gilly's? "The women ALL look prettier at closing time." Come to think of it, they all begin to look like movie stars.
I pray that fake stimulus money wasn't spent on finding out something that everybody already knows.
In college I self funded my own stimulus package at the local hang out. I concur with the results of this study! And yes the girls do look much better the closer it gets to sunrise!
not closer to sunrise, closer to last call. by sunrise, you know you made a mistake...
Wasn't there an old country song somewhere about sitting in the honky tonk, drinking another beer, and by midnight she'll be a beauty queen?
"Last night I came home at 2 with a 10, but at 10 I woke up with a 2!"--K Chesney
Don't the girls all get prettier at closing time - Mickey Gilley
Whats the difference between a dog and a fox????
A 12 pack.
LOL
Huh! Who would have thought that beer could do this to us guys? I wonder if vodka and Scotch and maybe even whiskey would have the same affect?
Incredible! what an amazingly newsworthy piece of news! Men want to have sex even more when they drink?! really? I wonder if that kind of thing might work on women? oh wait, that's how I got my daughter. Maybe we could link this study to the concept of Ladies Night drink discounts as it relates to gender equality in the modern era. Should be a socialogical goldmine there.........
So let me get this straight: According to Prof. Fromme, to aviod being hit on (or worse) by a drunken, social cue-misinterpreting buffoon, it is the woman's responsibility to dress in a burlap sack and not the man's to, say, not drink excessively? Good to know. This will help defense lawyers all around the country keep their sexual assault clients out of jail. "C'mon, your Honor! My client may have been wasted, but did you see the way she was dressed? She was clearly asking for it even when she said no, turned her back and tried to run away!"
Ummm. No.
It pretty much said that if the man's been drinking, the hag in the burlap sack will look like a movie star in a ballgown. (duh)
It's frigtening to me that someone is being paid to conduct this "scientific study" (again, as I'm sure this is the 1000th time a similar study has been conducted on the public dime...)
Whoever proposed this "study" should get punched in the throat for wasting precious time and money that could have gone to study things that actually matter.
What's the next "study" going to be? Who's boobs feel better, drunk girls or sober girls? What time of day is more fun to have sex with strippers? c'mon!
Hummmmmmm, I want that job
Easy kids, the moral of the story is "bad things happen to stupid people." It's not a male/female thing, hopefully someday we'll all get that. Untill then, brace yourself, the world is full of idiots.
To check out the theory it might be fun to get a friend drunk fix him up with a hot chick and when he falls asleep quickly remove the girl and substitute a blow-up love doll of a chimpanzee in a nightie. I wonder if that would make the guy stop drinking? HEY! A.A. I got an idea for you.
"Women who want to just have a good time -- and not go home with a guy -- would be smart to dress conservatively"
How about, "Men who just want to have a good time and don't want to rape anybody would be smart to *ask* women if they want to have sex, and wait for a 'Yes,'" instead of stereotyping women based on how they dress"? Are men not capable of being responsible for their social interactions with women?
Come on now, this is supposed to be a light hearted response to a ridiculous study. If you'd like a deeper more intellectual understanding of male/female relationships and interactions refer to peer reviewed Jounals, NOT MSNBC. In the meantime, stay out of my bar, we're having a good time!
It takes 2 to tangle.
If a woman dress in a short skirt and halter top that barely covers her butt and top, who do you think that will attract?
So let me get this right.....It's a hot humid night in the Mid-West. After a day of hanging out with my friends at a park or something, we decide to go out...The bar doesn't have AC, so we decide to go with what we've been wearing all day, a tank top and shorts. Because of this, I'm suppose to be understand when some drunken man slober all over me and try to take me home because I'm dressed in "come hither" clothes, and am I nice person who smiles and laughs with my friends....right, I'll remember that this Saturday.
Think about how 12 year old girls dress now, and compare it with how they dressed before we Feminized the country. Women are treated like sexual objects more now than 50 years ago. What is worn and considered normal now, was just 3 decades ago hooker attire.
Isn't it possible that the men didn't change, but the women changed what was presented to the men?
Put another way, you can have a very well trained dog, and it won't eat dog food unless you give it permission, but put a steak with cheese on it under it's nose, and you may get different results.
Ryan in Texas mentions that 12-year-old girls dress provocatively now, and blames it on the way the country has been "Feminized" (by which I guess he is referring to feminists?).
Ryan might want to note that it is the 12-year-old daughters of people who go to conservative fundamentalist evangelical churches who dress in a provocative way. Heck, I've seen the 4-year-old daughters of people who go to conservative fundamentalist evangelical churches dressed the way only hookers used to dress--and I've seen them at church on Sunday.
Ask the mother about it, and she will tell you how "cute" the daughter is. By "cute," the mother means "not like a jeans-and-sweatshirt clad feminist." Or, more bluntly, that she doesn't look like a lesbian.
It's the same reason why the Sarah Palins of the world do nothing to prevent their children from running around and getting pregnant (by the way, daughter #2 seems well down the same path as daughter #1). It proves that they 1) aren't feminists, 2) aren't lesbian, and 3) are girls from conservative fundamentalist evangelical families.
It's the same reason that the schools insist on having teen girls dress in "drapes" for their senior photos and exclude any girl who doesn't want to have her picture taken with what is basically a towel wrapped around her breasts, with her bra straps tucked downward, out of the way, or a strapless bra on. Modesty has suddenly become synonymous with "lesbian."
Whatever--my daughter wore conservative clothing all through high school and she and I were sneered at by the mothers of the other girls, who sniffed that she must be "different." She grew her hair out to drape over her shoulders so that she wouldn't feel half-naked in her senior pictures. And, no, she is not gay.
So, yes, I think that "what is presented to the men" has changed--but it is mostly because conservative women want to make it patently clear that their daughters are "not gay." Being that sniffing out the homosexuals is the new witch-hunt.
Holy cow, Bean; it appears that you really have some issues. Modesty has become synonymous with lesbian?? What planet are you from? Customs have changed since I was a kid- yes, I'm over 50. Some of the changes are refreshing and some are revolting, but homosexual sniffing-out does not appear to drive the agenda. Hollywood and the latest popular fads- often driven by homosexual agendas- have more to do with these issues than almost anything else I can point to.
Not to defend Palin, but I raised a daughter (27 now) and learned long ago as a parent and a teacher that one never has absolute control over their children, and never will. Running around and getting pregnant has been going on since humans invented sex (!!) and found out that they like it. We can teach, train, hold high expectations for behavior, etc., but we are fools if we think we can control completely.
Wow!!!!! Bean - Don't like conservative Christian women, huh? Ha! So by your logic, conservative Christian women do not want their daughters perceived as being gay, so they dress them up like sluts to look more feminine. That's your logic? Seriously? Really? ...Really? What it sounds like to me is that your hatred and indignation toward those who either believe in a higher power or live by a conservative philosophy is so unnaturally fierce that you just can't help but make vile sweeping generalizations about those people. Your animosity and bitterness is so entrenched within you that rather than using logic and rationale in your assessment of those you disagree with philosophically, you spit venom and attack their children. I mean, honestly, I don't know whether to be disgusted with you or amused by your blatant inability to think critically. It doesn't surprise me at all that someone like you throws in a jab at Palin and is now levying judgement on her younger daughter. I don't necessarily care for the idea of Palin as president but she's just one person who granted, puts her opinions out there, but she is just bombarded by halfwits who think it is either productive or funny to bash her children. What kind of person are you to find an article about two stupid studies and turn it into a conservative evangelical child bashing clinic? You're pathetic.
Feminists burned their bras in the 1960's. Part of Feminist's assertions was that men had kept their clothing options limited. There's clearly a link between the Feminist Movement and clothing.
Women now have the ability to be anything. But they are CHOOSING to wear more provocative attire. I'm a guy, what do you want me to do about it? That's the thing about the freedom to do anything, it brings consequences of those actions.
So I stick by what I said. Someone could be on a diet, and be doing well on it, but put their favorite food in front of them, and you certainly increase the chances that the diet will get broken.
And why do Women wear clothing that draws attention from the male eye if they don't want attention from males?
My understanding about alcohol is that it removes inhibitions. That it lets people do what they wanted to do, or say what they wanted to say, but were inhibited from doing or saying.
So if you are dressed hot at a bar, you've got to expect that some drunk guy might just hit on you. It just means the alcohol is working properly, and that he probably would think that you are attractive without the alcohol, but would be too inhibited to go over to you.
I don't know if it's conservative evangelicals, but I have indeed noticed the phenomenon Bean is speaking of. When I was in high school, virtually any girl who didn't dress like a prostitute was automatically assumed to be either 1) Gay, or 2) Planning on becoming a nun.
I worked with a woman who was constantly being home sent home for dressing provocatively.The problem was that when the wrong guy showed interest she screamed harassment.When the right guy showed interest it was mission accomplished! Men and women have different levels of different hormones that make them both do stupid things when looking for sex outside of marriage.
These stupid things are as old as creation itself.
If you go around asking women for sex and waiting for a yes you will be waiting a very long time.
That's not how it works dude.
It's like that saying "if you must ask the answer is no".
Ryan, I think you got a lot of it right on. There seems to be a lot more girls - and women - that dress a lot less modestly today. Modesty as a concept seems to have disappeared; more's the pity. I have heard many women say that they should be able to dress any way they want, show off whatever they want, whenever they want, wherever they want, and should not have to be bothered by men (or anyone) because they do. Well, we really can't tell you how to dress ladies, but you would have to be really naive or really dense not to know that dressing provocatively is going to attract both wanted and unwanted attention. It doesn't matter if it's fair or not; it's just the way it is. So deal with it.
And Bean, you do seem to have some issues. It is definitely not just "conservative fundamentalist evangelical[s]" that are guilty of dressing their daughters inappropriately; it's a phenomenon that seems to have infested most western cultures. Nor is it done to prove that they aren't lesbians. I happen to know a few lesbians who dress like hotties and enjoy the attention, from men and women. You can't just judge a book by its cover; not for sexual orientation, and not for sexual inclination.
Guys have to take responsibility for their actions, but girls need to take responsibility for theirs, too. And that includes how you present yourself, which goes beyond just clothes. (or lack thereof.)
Wow. An article about Beer goggles turns into a diatribe on conservative women with a Palin barb as a garnish. I think others have done a good job of commenting on this particular stance, so I will leave it alone.
@Bean - I am a 21 year old woman who got pregnant in high school. I wasn't a female who dressed like a "slut" or "prostitute", I wore pants and shirts big enough to fit two of me. I got pregnant because I found sex was enjoyable and didn't want to stop. Nothing my mother was going to say or do was gonig to stop me from having sex with my boyfriend (now fiancee). Thankfully I can say I've had both my children by the same man, who I've been with since I was in 10th grade and was/is my first. I'm not a fan of Palin, but attacking her daughter that way is childish and inconsiderate of you.
Yes Lee, many men are like that when drunk OR sober. Then again many men are not. Many men have been blackmailed after consensual sex by a low-life woman that led him on just for profit, it's a new form of prostitution that's sweeping the country. The Internet hook-ups aren't helping the situation either. As an example, look to the recent incident of the LaCross team scandal in Massachusetts.
Can you imagine actually asking a woman, point-blank, "Would you like to have sex?" - Good grief, grow up...
I did this study the other day.. except I was at the bar when I was doing it and woke up next to a mammoth of a women. It only cost me $30 bucks and a slight decline in my dignity but I'll try it out again tomorrow.
I think this study shows that all women no matter how unatractive they are or think they are can pick up the guy they want.
Duh! Anyone who ever had a beer knew that. I opened the article to see more pictures of the beer maids where are they?
I'm with you Roy!! More photos! And pass the beer.
Lol same here. I thought it was going to show a before and after pics of the beer maids. Maybe show a expanded pic of the beer maids being really overweight or something.
Maybe I can get them to do a study to see how many drinks a woman would need to have to make me look good.
I've done that study and I've found that the number of drinks a woman has to have to make me look good is almost the same as the number of drinks they can have before puking and passing out.
Ah well....
Ok, what's the speed of dark? She ain't much to see, but she looks good to me through the bottom of an empty glass. I've got the all overs for you all over me.If you get the feeling I don't love you, feel again. I gave her a ring and she gave me the finger.
How do you know what it's like to be stupid if you've never been smart.
You have 2 choices in life: you can stay single and be miserable, or get married and wish you were dead.
Women will never be equal to men until they can walk down the street with a bald head and a beer gut, and still think they are attractive to the opposite sex.
And a direct quote: "Clinton lied. A man might forget where he parks or where he lives, but he never forgets oral sex, no matter how bad it is. (Barbara Bush)
There should be a book of these at the Hallmark store. Great Christmas gift.
How much Federal tax money was plssed away on uncovering this obvious fact.
Most likely none. Most research of this kind is privately funded.
Privately-funded by which organization? Most of the Feminist "research" is funded by the Violence Against Women Act. Rape "studies" that continue to show that all men are pigs draw big bucks for universities.
Can you imagine how many marriages would not have happened if not for the common beer goggle?
It goggles - I mean boggles the mind. LOL...
Or how many kids end up being born.
I opened this to see the beer maidens too and found the study to be idiotic. Come on; did they not know this?
I would like to apply for employment with this study group though!
Women get beer goggles, too.
For the sake of us men, I hope so.
What a shocker!! Alcohol impairs judgment and diminishes inhibitions. But I think the study is ridiculous for two reasons: (1) it tells us something anyone who's ever darkened the door of a gin mill already knows, and (2) it says nothing about alcohol's affect on women; rather, it is one more data point for femi-nazis, who think women have no responsibility for mens' reactions when the women dress like sluts. To ignore that just ignores biology. But why not ignore biology when it doesn't fit with their political/social philosophy?
Ahh, Scott, give it a rest. We're just having some fun here. Have a couple of beers and put your beer goggles on.
I would love to see the accumulation of data you have that proves Biology is the reason men have "reactions" or in this case commit rape and sexual assault, because "women dress like sluts". I can guarantee there is no validty or any form of proper reliable "research" to back what you just wrote. You are ignorant and I imagine the type of boy who uses so called Biology to degrade, and abuse women, and relinquish accountability for your actions. This article does nothing to place the responsibility on men and boys for their actions; instead we have an article which allows them to believe women are at fault for being victimized by men, and men are not to blame because the alcohol made them "misinterpret" "signals". Also, in suggesting men may only know if a woman wants to have sex with him or not is somehow hidden in her attire, neglects the fact that there may be more dominant verbal "signals"; the word "no" for example.
Also your comment in regards to "femi-nazis"; not only are you using a word which was born in the mouth of Rush Limbaugh, who is also ignorant and quite possibly your role model; but it attempts to minimize and deminish any organization or individual person who dedicates their life to helping women and children lead safe and happy lives. Do some research- actual research, from reliable sources; on feminism and biology and then express your opinion on the matter.
Samantha you are exactly what Scott was referring to. Women good! Men bad! Men responsible! Women not responsible! It doesn't matter who invented what word, you and your sisters are as responsible for your actions as any man. When I see a woman accused of rape because she got the man drunk first, I'll have a lot more simpathy for your position that all you want is equality. And BTW nobody mentioned rape and sexual assault until you did. Basically the argument is being made that if you don't want to be hit on by every man in the place don't dress like a slut, AND if you do, don't claim it's not as much your fault as it is the men's fault.
Samantha, RE: the term Femi-nazi
" it attempts to minimize and deminish any organization or individual person who dedicates their life to helping women and children lead safe and happy lives"
Bull! It attempts to minimize and deminish any organization or individual person who believes women are in any way superior to men, or that women are never even partially to blame for anything, period. It is purely aimed at the "women good", "men bad" crowd. And please don't show your ignorance by trying to bring rape into the discussion. That is NOT the subject of this discussion.
where do the people who come up with these studies live? in a cave? maybe someone will throw me a few mill to discover the sky is blue i have this shirt that says "beer, helping ugly people have sex since 1873" i thought this was common knowledge
Chris, how do you really know the sky is blue???
Dan
the sky isnt always blue ..... it changes with the weather and the time of day
Wow, blinding flash of the obvious here.
I personally did extensive research on this topic as a college student, grad student, and as a young soldier back in the seventies and eighties, and the results are remarkably identical. Go figure.
Wow, blinding flash of the obvious here.
I personally did extensive research on this topic as a college student, grad student, and as a young soldier back in the seventies and eighties, and the results are remarkably identical. Go figure.
I must have been drunk on my wedding night,cause look at what I brought home.LOL
You mean to tell me they actually paid someone to do research on this? Of all the stupid things to waste money on. Just ask any college person or sailor and they will tell you everything you ever wanted to know about "beer goggles".
DUH!!!!
NO WAY PEOPLE LOOK BETTER WHEN YOUR DRUNK??? no wayyy! this is huge news lets tell the world what we have already known for hundreds of years....did we really need a study for this jeez.