A new study in “Journal of Psychopharmacology” found what all undergraduate blokes already know, female undergraduate students who drink find men more attractive than women who do not drink.  Researchers showed pairs of photos of 60 men to 45 women.  The women were asked to pick the more symmetrical face.  The study showed facial symmetry detection performance is inversely related to typical alcohol consumption.

Symmetry is hot

Facial symmetry is an indicator of how attractive a person appears to others.  The more symmetrical your face, the more attractive you appear to others.  If your facial features are symmetric, you’re likely to be free of genetic defects and you’ll make a good reproductive mate.  When you drink a beer (or other alcohol), your ability to determine the symmetry of a face is lessened.  This is the famous “beer goggle” effect.

Researchers Dr. Kirsten Oinonen and graduate student Roxanne Sterniczuk also found facial symmetry detection performance fell with the number of recent alcohol related hangovers, how often the subject blacked out in the previous month, and how frequent the woman consumed alcohol.  A correlation was found even for light drinkers.  A woman who had less than five drinks a month fared worse in the test than women who abstained.

Beery women find more men cuter

An interesting note in their findings is similar results did not emerge for dot symmetry perception.  The beer goggling is specific to face symmetry.  This means women who drink do not lose their ability to discern patterns of symmetric and asymmetric dots; they just lose their ability to tell if we’re cute.  The findings suggest “the possibility of a neurotoxic effect of alcohol on facial symmetry perception ability in female undergraduate students”.
The most shocking finding is the test was performed on sober women.  The study showed women who drink are less able to determine facial symmetry, even when they are sober.  The drink you are buying her not only improves your chances, it helps other “less symmetric” guys look more attractive down the road.  The women are beer goggling long after the all-night bender.

Don’t know why, it just works

The researchers think alcohol is modifying the woman’s brain structure, but they do not know how long the effect lasts or if the damage is permanent.  The study only counted drinks within the past six months.  According to the study, “no previous studies have examined the effect of alcohol history on symmetry detection”.  I agree more research is required.