Alcohol proven to spread smiles

Drinking alcohol can make men more responsive to the smiles of others, according to a recent study.

US researchers have found that, for men, alcohol actually boosts the rate of genuine smiles among men increasing their infectious nature.

Researchers randomly assigned 720 healthy social drinkers aged 21 to 28 splitting them into groups of three with each group asked to drink either an alcoholic beverage, a placebo, or a nonalcoholic control beverage.

The interactions of each group were then recorded to monitor the “spread” of smiles throughout the group.

Interestingly, researchers found that alcohol significantly increased the contagiousness of smiles within all-male groups, however no significant difference was recorded between groups of women who were drinking alcohol and those who were not.

Catharine Fairbairn of the University of Pittsburgh, lead researcher, speaking to businessstandard.com, said: “This experimental alcohol study, which included a social context, finds the clearest evidence yet of greater alcohol reinforcement for men than women.

“We wanted to explore the possibility that social alcohol consumption was more rewarding to men than to women – the idea that alcohol might actually ‘lubricate’ social interaction to a greater extent among men.”

The study indicated that alcohol was more likely to induce a type of “social bravery” among men and increase their sensitivity and reaction toward others smiles.

While the social interactions of men were found to be more impacted by the introduction of alcohol, a smile was more likely to be returned by those drinking, regardless of gender.

The study was published in the journal of Clinical Psychological Science.