Everything your alcohol choices say about you according to science
Bottoms up
Pop the corks and charge your glasses because it could be time to celebrate. Then again, it could also be time to commiserate, all depending on what your choice of drink apparently says about you.
For those who do partake in the occasional alcoholic tipple, it’ll likely feel like second nature when someone asks if you want a glass of red or white.
However, you might not realize that the specific type of wine you’re choosing could be giving away far more than just your taste preferences.
As shared by the Daily Mail, the team from Beijing Normal–Hong Kong Baptist University looked at nearly 10,000 reviews from a major online wine retailer.
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They then used artificial intelligence to determine someone’s personality traits based on their reviews.
The scientific findings were published in the Journal of Personality, highlighting how people who are more agreeable and open are typically associated with drinks that have higher alcoholic content, pointing to red wines like Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, Port, and Sherry.
Those more prone to extraversion and neuroticism are linked to lower alcohol wines like Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Noir, or Prosecco.
It doesn’t sound like the most glowing of reviews for those of us who are automatically drawn to the free glasses of Prosecco at their best friend’s wedding. Researchers wrote: “The findings indicate that personality traits significantly shape consumer evaluations of wine.” Those scoring highest for openness are said to like higher ABV wines because they have a richer taste more akin to ‘novel sensations.’
Agreeableness is associated with these wines because they’re often seen as being of higher quality, meaning they could gain more approval in social settings.
Extraversion is something of an anomaly, as you might think an extroverted person used to socializing would prefer a stronger drink.
Instead, they lean toward those with a lower ABV amid the suggestion that they don’t want to get too drunk and can keep socializing for longer.
Neuroticism is defined by sensitivity to stress and emotional instability, with lower-strength wines potentially helping these people avoid the physiological risks associated with getting drunk.
Interestingly, it’s said there’s no link between conscientiousness and any type of wine. Researchers suggest that it could be to do with competing motivations of being health-conscious (a lower ABV wine) and goal-driven, so seeking sophistication (higher ABV), canceling each other out.
The team concluded that this kind of research could help tailor people’s recommendations based on personality traits: “From a practical perspective, our results are relevant to online wine retailers, marketers, and digital platforms seeking to implement psychographic segmentation and improve recommendation algorithms.”
Personality suggestion could also reduce decision fatigue.
Not everyone was sold, with one critic writing: “It certainly says a lot about the shallow, entitled wine snobs.”
Another added: “I select my wine by what’s on offer that week.”
A third joked: “So I like prosecco, sav blanc (NZ and Chilean only), cab sav and Malbec. So no doubt that makes me an agreeable, neurotic extrovert.”
Despite skeptics against the research, it’s definitely an interesting conversation to bring up over your next glass of wine.