UK University Builds Fake Pub to Study Drinking

London’s South Bank University built a new pub that is used by psychology students and professors to study topics related to bars and alcohol consumption.

This simulated bar features a number of unusual features, such as:

• Guests will randomly be served alcoholic or non-alcoholic drinks, depending on study being done in the lab
• The audio system will play music as well as pre-recorded chatter to simulate a busy pub
• There will be video cameras everywhere to record what’s going on inside
• Psychology students will serve as bartenders
• There will be games installed to test risk-taking and eye-hand coordination
• The drinks (real or fake) will be free!

The point of this bar/laboratory is to study why and how people drink, as well as the behaviors they engage in while drinking.

For more information, see this article from The Guardian.