It’s well known that members of the opposite sex appear to become more attractive the more you drink. But, according to a new study, women who drink even moderately experience a reduced ability to rate attractiveness in male faces, even after they are sober.

The research, carried out by Dr Kirsten Oinonen of Lakehead University, in Canada, put 45 young women classed as typical, non-alcoholic drinkers (who consumed less than 40 drinks per month) through a battery of tests, including an exercise on facial symmetry. In this test, the women were presented with 60 pairs of male faces. One in each pair was more symmetrical than the other, and the women had to identify it in each of the pairs.

The results showed that the more a woman had drunk during the previous six months, the less well she was able to judge facial symmetry. And, even women who had drunk the equivalent of just five drinks a month scored less in the test than those who had consumed no drinks – with each additional drink leading to a reduced score on the symmetry test.

Both sexes find facial symmetry attractive, since the more symmetric the features, the more likely the person is to be free from genetic defects, and therefore they are more likely to be a worthy mate. Facial symmetry is thus considered one of the key markers of attractiveness, and plays an important role in mate selection.

Dr Oinonen said:

My study suggests that sober women who drink alcohol are less able to perceive facial symmetry when sober.

When sober, these women are worse at judging facial symmetry, and therefore may find less attractive men more attractive. Given that symmetry is associated with attractiveness of faces, my study does suggest the possibility that alcohol intoxication may decrease facial symmetry perception, and make people look more attractive.

This is the first study to look at this issue. It suggests that as typical alcohol consumption increases in young women, facial symmetry perception performance decreases.

The researchers say the results suggest alcohol has a long term effect on the brain. They believe it could effect the brain’s structure in some way, reducing its visual perception abilities. But, it is not known how long term the effects are or whether they are permanent.

Dr Oinonen added:

Whether or not any damage or deficits are permanent is hard to tell at this point.

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Posted by Jonathan in Psychology, Sociology

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