Ezra Klein speculates on the reality of the "beer goggle" effect:
I hadn't thought the beer goggles effect was real -- rather, I'd assumed the effect was a mixture of lowered social reserve (and thus reduced fear of social opprobrium) and higher horniness, which combined to overcome qualms you'd otherwise have about a potential partner.In fact, I'm still not convinced the effect is real, and wouldn't be surprised to learn that it's a function of people being more interested in hooking up with each other, and thus mistaking attraction for attractiveness.
I'd say Ezra's onto something. Evidence: approaching thirty seems to have exactly the same effect. Followed by a sobering-up period as you observe what sort of marriages this seems to produce.
I'm not convinced. I've noticed that when I've reached the point of being slightly tipsy, I lose a bit of focus and colors become more intense; presumably this corresponds to the loss of iris control that a cop looks for when shining a flashlight in someone's face at a DWI/DUI stop. How this plays out when one is completely stone drunk, I have no idea, since I've never tried it -- what a waste of a perfectly good evening (and alcohol).
Nonetheless, most people are not outright ugly, they just have wierd visual quirks that detract from an otherwise passable appearance. As anyone who has ever tinkered with image editing can attest, most of these vanish with just a little image softening...which probably explains why visions of romance are usually accompanied by low, gentle lighting that emphasizes warm colors, doesn't expose every detail, and doesn't create sharp shadows that might hint at unrevealed details.
So while lowered inhibition and impaired judgment goes a long way towards explaining the results, I posit the goggles are a real phenomenon.
I wonder if increased access to eyeglasses and other vision correctives has contributed to people placing an increased premium on beauty. I notice all kinds of flaws that I would never notice without my glasses. Two hundred years ago, then, everyone was, subjectively, much prettier.
I have a good girlfriend who is very beautiful, but her boyfriends and husband have been a string of totally unattractive losers. I'd even go so far as to say that her husband is as homely as a mule's butt (to borrow from Abe Simpson). But despite this seeming imbalance in her favor, he has spent the entirety of their relationship belittling her appearance, while she believes that he's good looking. I actually almost spit out my drink last week when she was telling a story in which she mentioned how good looking he was. I noticed that I was not the only one in the room trying to keep a straight face.
It bears mentioning that when they met, she was doing a lot of drugs and drinking pretty heavily, and he's always been straightedge. So even though she's since given up her wild ways for him, I have a feeling that her self-deception is so thoroughly ingrained that she'll never be able to view him objectively.
I have a good girlfriend who is very beautiful, but her boyfriends and husband have been a string of totally unattractive losers.
*gasps*
*checks user name*
*IDs it as female*
*recalls female convention for identifying gender of platonic friends*
*calms down*
It's hard to say, at least for me. Anytime I've been affected by the "beer google" effect - determined by the gasp of surprise emitted by me or the other person the next morning, I had no recollection of exactly how I got where I was.
The "beer goggle effect" is indeed a real phenomenon (at least in the context of male behavior); however "beer goggle" is a misnomer. It's not that girls suddenly appear more beautiful with alcohol, it's just that you no longer *care* and are happy to take what you can get, so to speak.
The truth is, most guys would rather spend the night with an unattractive girl than spend it alone. But societal/peer pressure usually curtails this unless your inhibitions are stripped away by alcohol consumption. It's this same principle that keeps Mel Gibson from spouting anti-semitic comments in public when he's sober, and vice-versa when he's not.
The truth is, most guys would rather spend the night with an unattractive girl than spend it alone. But societal/peer pressure usually curtails this unless your inhibitions are stripped away by alcohol consumption. It's this same principle that keeps Mel Gibson from spouting anti-semitic comments in public when he's sober, and vice-versa when he's not.
So in both cases we might term this "The Passion of the Crunk"?
I think Chas is right, the other person isn't better looking, you just reason that it's ok. Alcohol tends to reduce your ability to exercise good judgement, lowers inhibitions etc. I think the effect is real regardless of what you call it.
'Beer goggles' effect explained:
Scientists believe they have worked out a formula to calculate how "beer goggles" affect a drinker's vision.
The drink-fuelled phenomenon is said to transform supposedly "ugly" people into beauties - until the morning after.
Researchers at Manchester University say while beauty is in the eye of the beer-holder, the amount of alcohol consumed is not the only factor.
Additional factors include the level of light in the pub or club, the drinker's own eyesight and the room's smokiness.
The distance between two people is also a factor.
KEY TO FORMULA
Beer goggles equation
An = number of units of alcohol consumed
S = smokiness of the room (graded from 0-10, where 0 clear air; 10 extremely smoky)
L = luminance of 'person of interest' (candelas per square metre; typically 1 pitch black; 150 as seen in normal room lighting)
Vo = Snellen visual acuity (6/6 normal; 6/12 just meets driving standard)
d = distance from 'person of interest' (metres; 0.5 to 3 metres)
They all add up to make the aesthetically-challenged more attractive, according to the formula.
The formula can work out a final score, ranging from less than one - where there is no beer goggle effect - to more than 100.
Nathan Efron, Professor of Clinical Optometry at the University of Manchester, said: "The beer goggles effect isn't solely dependent on how much alcohol a person consumes, there are other influencing factors at play too.
"For example, someone with normal vision, who has consumed five pints of beer and views a person 1.5 metres away in a fairly smoky and poorly lit room, will score 55, which means they would suffer from a moderate beer goggle effect."
The research was commissioned by eyecare firm Bausch & Lomb PureVision.
A poll showed that 68% of people had regretted giving their phone number to someone to whom they later realised they were not attracted.
A formula rating of less than one means no effect. Between one and 50 the person you would normally find unattractive appears less "visually offensive".
Non-appealing people become suddenly attractive between 51 and 100. At more than 100, someone not considered attractive looks like a super model.