We have heard that men under the influence of alcohol tend to change the way they look at women – people know about it from movies, songs, and personal experiences. Researchers from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln have scientifically proven that ‘beer goggles’ exist. A man starts acting differently after he had a few drinks. Guys no longer look at women’s faces but rather concentrate their gazes on the bosoms, but they don’t do it with all girls. There is a type of females that gets this treatment.

Alcohol affects men’s behaviour towards women

Alcohol myopia is an incapability to process large amounts of information which leads to the sexual objectification of the opposite gender.

A group of scientists from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln conducted a study to review how alcohol changes men’s behaviour towards ladies. The researchers used an eye-tracking method to record where guys were looking while communicating with ladies after consuming some alcoholic drinks.

One of the goals of the study was to find ways to prevent sexual assault under the influence of alcohol.

The research provided evidence that drunk men are less interested in a woman’s face. They prefer gazing at their waists, breasts and other curvy parts of the body. But this was only happening if the man considered a lady intelligent or aloof. If the lady was perceived as friendly, the men didn’t look at her bosom as much but rather concentrate on her face.

Investigating the effect of ‘beer goggles’

In order to undertake the study, the group of scientist tested nearly 50 students.

• People who participated in the research were aged 21 to 27.
• 75% of them were white males.

One part of the group was offered real alcohol drinks, so men would reach the required blood alcohol level of light intoxication. Other students got drinks which only tasted like liquor but in reality contained too little alcohol to make them tipsy.

Then the men were shown 80 pictures of young females and asked to rate them. Ladies in pictures were dressed as if they were going to a party.

Prior to the experiment with drinks, the same photos were demonstrated to nearly 300 individuals, including both females and males, to rate them. The ‘judges’ were required to rate women as attractive, warm or competent. Each of these features could be assigned a level such as high, average or low.

So, the evaluations of the experimental group were compared to the ratings of the more objective judges, to determine links between a woman’s friendliness, competence (intelligence) and beauty, and how guys under influence would react to them.

In a previous study by Gervais and DiLillo men admitted that they were perceiving females as sex objects at a greater extent while being intoxicated via self-reporting. However, the new research discovered that it’s not due to the fact that guys were finding ladies more attractive under the influence, as previously thought.

Drinks don’t make women to appear prettier to an intoxicated man

Surprisingly, the participants didn’t find females to be more appealing (i.e. prettier) while intoxicated. They were giving about the same ratings on attractiveness as the ‘judges’ in the prior round.

But when a female was perceived unfriendly or intelligent, this caused an intoxicated man to look more at her curvy parts and nearly completely disregard her face. Participants were specifically instructed to concentrate at the ladies’ appearance but not told which parts of the picture to look at.

It’s also important to point out that the behaviour was caused by images alone, not the real intelligence or friendliness of females in pictures.

So, ‘beer goggles’ do exist and they have an effect on men’s behaviour. However, it is mostly women who are perceived as smart and unfriendly that are on the receiving end of sexual objectification.

It is rather a surprising finding! You’d guess it was the other way around: Girls who are silly would be getting the looks as sex objects. But strangely, it’s the smart girls that got objectified.

What do you think about it, guys? Comment below!

Read also:

• Having a Sense of Purpose in Life Not Only Attracts Women, But Also Prolongs Your Life
• How much sex other people are having? Much less than you think
• Why alcohol makes you hungry
• Research: Consuming over 5 drinks a week will shorten your life