title: Increased facial attractiveness following moderate, but not high, alcohol consumption.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Alcohol consumption is known to be associated with risky sexual behaviours, but this relationship may be complex and bidirectional. We explored whether alcohol consumption leads to the consumer being rated as more attractive than sober individuals.
  
  
  METHODS
  Heterosexual social alcohol consumers completed an attractiveness-rating task, in which they were presented with pairs of photographs depicting the same individual, photographed while sober and after having consumed alcohol (either 0.4 or 0.8 g/kg), and required to decide which image was more attractive.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Photographs of individuals who had consumed a low dose of alcohol (equivalent to 250 ml of wine at 14% alcohol by volume for a 70 kg individual) were rated as more attractive than photographs of sober individuals. This was not observed for photographs of individuals who had consumed a high dose of alcohol.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In addition to perceiving others as more attractive, a mildly intoxicated alcohol consumer may also be perceived as more attractive by others. This in turn may play a role in the relationship between alcohol consumption and risky sexual behaviour.
authors.affiliation: School of Experimental Psychology, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK.
authors.forename: Jana
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Van Den Abbeele
authors.affiliation: School of Experimental Psychology, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK.
authors.forename: Ian S
authors.initials: IS
authors.lastname: Penton-Voak
authors.affiliation: School of Experimental Psychology, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit (IEU) at the University of Bristol, Bristol, UK UK Centre for Tobacco and Alcohol Studies, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK.
authors.forename: Angela S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Attwood
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia.
authors.forename: Ian D
authors.initials: ID
authors.lastname: Stephen
authors.affiliation: School of Experimental Psychology, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit (IEU) at the University of Bristol, Bristol, UK UK Centre for Tobacco and Alcohol Studies, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK marcus.munafo@bristol.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Marcus R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Munafò
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000339:Affect; D000428:Alcohol Drinking; D000435:Alcoholic Intoxication; D005145:Face; D005260:Female; D020010:Heterosexuality; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012725:Sexual Behavior; D012938:Social Perception; D047568:Unsafe Sex; D055815:Young Adult