Which sort of drunk are you?

Herald online

16 Jul, 2015 08:20 PM3 mins to read

We all change on the drink, which kind of character are you? Photo / Thinkstock

There's no doubt people change when they've had a few.

For the first time psychologists have identified the four characters people transform in to when they've had too many beers.

The study, published in academic journal Addiction Research and Theory, asked 364 women and men to fill out a personality test in two ways: once considering themselves normal, and again as they are when they're drunk.

From this information, experts at the University of Missouri-Columbia considered five personality factors that are affected by alcohol - Extroversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Intellect and Emotional Stability.

They split the respondents in to four different types of drunk people: the Hemingway, the Nutty Professor, the Mary Poppins and the Mr Hyde.

What kind of drunk are you?

Hemingway:

The famous author declared he could "drink hells any amount of whiskey without getting drunk". This was the largest group, who, when drunk, change very little, researchers said. They didn't show much difference in intellect or conscientiousness when drinking, they were still reliable and could process complex ideas.

The Nutty Professor:

At the other end of the spectrum there's those who find Dutch courage after a few drinks. In the funny flicks, insecure science nerd The Nutty Professor turns in to the super confident Buddy Love when he drinks a potion. In reality, this shy type when sober sees a spike in extroversion when they're drink, while conscientiousness decreases. This was 20 per cent of participants, mostly men, according to The Telegraph.

Mary Poppins:

The friendly, but firm, classic Disney nanny made up 15 per cent of participants, mostly women, according to The Telegraph. They were agreeable, compassionate and kind when sober and drunk. They do become more extroverted under the influence.

"The Mary Poppins group of drinkers essentially captures the sweet, responsible drinkers who experience fewer alcohol-related problems," according to the paper.

Mr. Hyde:

This is the evil alter-ego of Dr Jekyll in the Robert Louis Stevenson novel, Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. When drinking, these are those folks who end up arrested for debaucherous behaviour and wake up with memory loss. They become less conscientious, intellectual and agreeable, researchers said. They also showed slight increases in extroversion. This type are the second most common in the study, making up 23 per cent of participants.