Beer Goggles Are a Myth, Says Science

Tina Rivera
(Photo: OBSEV/Shutterstock)

While beer goggles are known for enhancing the beauty of everyone around you, a new study has proven that they cannot actually be blamed for taking an unattractive person home. In fact, the only person you can blame is yourself.

In an unconventional yet completely necessary study done by the University of Oxford, psychologists took it upon themselves to hit up three different bars in two weekends in Bristol, England. Their objective? To investigate whether or not the amount of alcohol consumed enhanced levels of attractiveness found in other people—and perhaps throw back a drink or two themselves!


Over the course of the two weekends, a total of 311 tipsy patrons were surveyed in the study. The psychologists used breathalyzers to measure levels of “drunkenness,” and then presented the subjects with an Android tablet displaying photos of random people. In order to test whether or not the beer goggle theory persisted, the subjects were then asked to rate the people in the photos based on attractiveness.

After hours of mingling with drunk people (aka “field research”), the psychologists found essentially NO correlation between how drunk a person was and attractiveness ratings: “In sum, we find no evidence for a relationship between consumption of alcohol and perception of attractiveness.” Alas, beer goggles are not actually a thing. :[

While the beer goggle theory was disproven, “There was evidence that higher alcohol consumption was associated with finding faces of the same-sex less attractive, which has not previously been observed.” Go figure. 


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