The Wanderer
Kid A
and there's hope even for you, Swallow
http://www.scotlandonsunday.com/scitech.cfm
Beauty is in the Eye of the Beer Beholder
by Camillo Fracassini, editor
BEAUTY may be in the eye of the beholder but it helps if you?ve had a few. Psychologists have finally established scientific proof of the ?beer goggles? effect.
It is the notorious phenomenon by which even the ugliest members of the opposite sex look more appealing after a few pints or glasses of wine.
Scottish researchers have discovered that men and women who have drunk a moderate amount of alcohol find the faces of members of the opposite sex 25% more attractive than their stone-cold sober counterparts.
Eighty students from Glasgow University were shown colour photographs of 120 male and female St Andrews University students aged 18-26 and asked to rate their attractiveness on a scale between one - "highly unattractive" - and seven - "highly attractive".
Half of the student ?viewers? had drunk between one and four units of alcohol, equivalent to a maximum of around two pints of lager or two-and-a-half glasses of wine, while the others had drunk no alcohol at all.
Professor Barry Jones, from Glasgow University?s department of psychology, said: " We found that the attractiveness ratings were 25% higher among the people who had had a drink.
"The increase in perceived attractiveness appeared to be the same for the ugly people as the pretty people.
"Everyone?s heard of the beer goggles effect but we wanted to measure once and for all whether a moderate amount of alcohol increases the judgement of facial attractiveness.
"It does, significantly, but only with the opposite sex."
Jones said he and his collaborator Ben Jones, from St Andrews University, had been surprised to find that the beauty-enhancing effect of drink had been the same among both male and female volunteers.
Barry Jones said: "There seems to be the view among people of a feminist disposition that the man is the predator and woman isn?t, and that alcohol just makes it worse. But it didn?t turn out like that at all."
Jones said his study suggests that alcohol boosts the activity of the part of the human brain which is used to determine facial attractiveness, the nucleus accumbens.
Meanwhile, studies using brain scans have shown the activity of the nucleus accumbens increases when men and women are shown images of attractive people.
Jones said: "Facial attractiveness provides a very important signal of mate quality, it shows you have good genes and a healthy body.
"If you were looking at a moderately pretty face and I poured two pints down your neck the nuclear accumbens is made to work more and perceive the face to be even more attractive than it actually is.
"The message sent to the brain is: ?This is a real cracker.?"
Jones explained that previous studies had shown that moderate intakes of alcohol increased the risk of unprotected sex, a risk which is also linked to the attractiveness of a partner.
Jones, who will present the study to an the International Congress on Behavioural Medicine in Finland, later this month said: "What we may have here is an explanation for why moderate doses of alcohol increase the chance of unprotected sex. It might be because the alcohol makes the person?s partner seem more attractive."
Professor Geoff Palmer, of Heriot-Watt University?s International Centre for Brewing and Distilling, said: "This research confirms what many drinkers already know; the world seems a hell of a lot better after a couple of pints.
"Alcohol affects your perception in many different ways and that includes visual perception."
Martin Raymond, head of public affairs at the Health Education Board for Scotland, said the study should reinforce the safe drinking message.
He said: "Our advice on sensible drinking is that it?s not just about the physical effects of alcohol - it?s also about getting into situations which you wouldn?t do when you?re sober."
"There is certainly an association between unprotected sex and alcohol misuse."
cfracassini@scotlandonsunday.com
Look of aggression
WHILE drink can make the opposite sex appear more attractive, it can also have a more sinister effect.
Research has shown that moderate alcohol consumption makes faces appear more threatening.
The findings, by Barry Jones and his Glasgow University colleagues in the department of psychology, help explain the long-established link between alcohol and violence.
Jones found that ?ambiguous? expressions which are neither happy nor angry are more likely to be misread as threatening by people who have drunk alcohol than those who have not.
The study suggests drinking up to four units of alcohol - about two pints of lager or two-and-a-half glasses of wine - may make people more prone to violence because they misinterpret facial expressions and believe the person they are looking at is more threatening than they actually are.
The research used photos which show men and women making a range of facial expressions. The images were shown to two groups of 40 male and female students, half of whom had consumed alcohol, who were asked to rate how threatening they found them. Both men and women who had had a drink found the ?ambiguous? faces 30% more threatening than those who had no alcohol.
http://www.scotlandonsunday.com/scitech.cfm
Beauty is in the Eye of the Beer Beholder
by Camillo Fracassini, editor
BEAUTY may be in the eye of the beholder but it helps if you?ve had a few. Psychologists have finally established scientific proof of the ?beer goggles? effect.
It is the notorious phenomenon by which even the ugliest members of the opposite sex look more appealing after a few pints or glasses of wine.
Scottish researchers have discovered that men and women who have drunk a moderate amount of alcohol find the faces of members of the opposite sex 25% more attractive than their stone-cold sober counterparts.
Eighty students from Glasgow University were shown colour photographs of 120 male and female St Andrews University students aged 18-26 and asked to rate their attractiveness on a scale between one - "highly unattractive" - and seven - "highly attractive".
Half of the student ?viewers? had drunk between one and four units of alcohol, equivalent to a maximum of around two pints of lager or two-and-a-half glasses of wine, while the others had drunk no alcohol at all.
Professor Barry Jones, from Glasgow University?s department of psychology, said: " We found that the attractiveness ratings were 25% higher among the people who had had a drink.
"The increase in perceived attractiveness appeared to be the same for the ugly people as the pretty people.
"Everyone?s heard of the beer goggles effect but we wanted to measure once and for all whether a moderate amount of alcohol increases the judgement of facial attractiveness.
"It does, significantly, but only with the opposite sex."
Jones said he and his collaborator Ben Jones, from St Andrews University, had been surprised to find that the beauty-enhancing effect of drink had been the same among both male and female volunteers.
Barry Jones said: "There seems to be the view among people of a feminist disposition that the man is the predator and woman isn?t, and that alcohol just makes it worse. But it didn?t turn out like that at all."
Jones said his study suggests that alcohol boosts the activity of the part of the human brain which is used to determine facial attractiveness, the nucleus accumbens.
Meanwhile, studies using brain scans have shown the activity of the nucleus accumbens increases when men and women are shown images of attractive people.
Jones said: "Facial attractiveness provides a very important signal of mate quality, it shows you have good genes and a healthy body.
"If you were looking at a moderately pretty face and I poured two pints down your neck the nuclear accumbens is made to work more and perceive the face to be even more attractive than it actually is.
"The message sent to the brain is: ?This is a real cracker.?"
Jones explained that previous studies had shown that moderate intakes of alcohol increased the risk of unprotected sex, a risk which is also linked to the attractiveness of a partner.
Jones, who will present the study to an the International Congress on Behavioural Medicine in Finland, later this month said: "What we may have here is an explanation for why moderate doses of alcohol increase the chance of unprotected sex. It might be because the alcohol makes the person?s partner seem more attractive."
Professor Geoff Palmer, of Heriot-Watt University?s International Centre for Brewing and Distilling, said: "This research confirms what many drinkers already know; the world seems a hell of a lot better after a couple of pints.
"Alcohol affects your perception in many different ways and that includes visual perception."
Martin Raymond, head of public affairs at the Health Education Board for Scotland, said the study should reinforce the safe drinking message.
He said: "Our advice on sensible drinking is that it?s not just about the physical effects of alcohol - it?s also about getting into situations which you wouldn?t do when you?re sober."
"There is certainly an association between unprotected sex and alcohol misuse."
cfracassini@scotlandonsunday.com
Look of aggression
WHILE drink can make the opposite sex appear more attractive, it can also have a more sinister effect.
Research has shown that moderate alcohol consumption makes faces appear more threatening.
The findings, by Barry Jones and his Glasgow University colleagues in the department of psychology, help explain the long-established link between alcohol and violence.
Jones found that ?ambiguous? expressions which are neither happy nor angry are more likely to be misread as threatening by people who have drunk alcohol than those who have not.
The study suggests drinking up to four units of alcohol - about two pints of lager or two-and-a-half glasses of wine - may make people more prone to violence because they misinterpret facial expressions and believe the person they are looking at is more threatening than they actually are.
The research used photos which show men and women making a range of facial expressions. The images were shown to two groups of 40 male and female students, half of whom had consumed alcohol, who were asked to rate how threatening they found them. Both men and women who had had a drink found the ?ambiguous? faces 30% more threatening than those who had no alcohol.
