Science says just holding a beer could make you look less intelligent - and less hireable
REUTERS/Michael Dalder
But just holding a beer can make you look less intelligent, according to a joint study by the University of Michigan and the University of Pennsylvania.
Authors Scott Rick and Maurice Schweitzer found that people who are holding an alcoholic beverage are perceived as less intelligent then people who aren't.
The professional fallout is particularly bad: Job applicants who ordered wine during dinner were seen as less intelligent and less capable than candidates who ordered soda.
The mechanism at work?
A priming effect that Rick and Schweitzer call the "the imbibing idiot bias." In short, we so closely associate drinking and idiocy that when we see someone holding a drink, we expect them to act like an idiot.
"The association between alcohol and cognitive impairment has been illustrated for millennia in literature, cinema, bars, and homes," Rick and Schweitzer write, citing the stack of studies linking drinking and stupidity. "In fact, the association between alcohol and cognitive impairment is one of the most enduring and ubiquitous associations for any food or beverage over time and across cultures."
Spencer Platt / Getty
In another experiment, participants watched a video of a persuasive speech made by a male holding either a Coke can or a bottle of beer. The beer holder was rated as "significantly less persuasive" than the Coke holder.
Yet another experiment took the form of recruiting interviews done over dinner between participants (in the role of job candidate) and a paid panel of mid-level managers. The participants were offered a glass of red wine or a Coke. And while the participants reported that they thought ordering the wine would make them look smarter, the managers said that the participants appeared less intelligent when they ordered the Merlot.
So if you want to avoid looking like an imbibing idiot, save the drinking for happy hour.
- A couple accidentally shipped their cat in an Amazon return package. It arrived safely 6 days later, hundreds of miles away.
- A centenarian who starts her day with gentle exercise and loves walks shares 5 longevity tips, including staying single
- 2 states where home prices are falling because there are too many houses and not enough buyers
- "To sit and talk in the box...!" Kohli's message to critics as RCB wrecks GT in IPL Match 45
- 7 Nutritious and flavourful tiffin ideas to pack for school
- India's e-commerce market set to skyrocket as the country's digital economy surges to USD 1 Trillion by 2030
- Top 5 places to visit near Rishikesh
- Indian economy remains in bright spot: Ministry of Finance
- JNK India IPO allotment date
- JioCinema New Plans
- Realme Narzo 70 Launched
- Apple Let Loose event
- Elon Musk Apology
- RIL cash flows
- Charlie Munger
- Feedbank IPO allotment
- Tata IPO allotment
- Most generous retirement plans
- Broadcom lays off
- Cibil Score vs Cibil Report
- Birla and Bajaj in top Richest
- Nestle Sept 2023 report
- India Equity Market