Body odour: Effects of diet and fertility. 17 Jan 2017

In this episode we poke our noses into two new research papers on body odour and attractiveness. Can women tell if another woman is fertile simply by sniffing her armpits? And can we sweeten our natural aroma by eating fragrant food?

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Something (or Someone) Smells Fishy: Diet and Body Odor

Does a diet rich in fruit and vegetables make a man's sweat smell like a bouquet of flowers? Derek Hatfield/Flickr

The articles covered in the show:

Gildersleeve, K., Fales, M. R., & Haselton, M. G. (in press). Women's evaluations of other women's natural body odor depend on targets' fertility status. Evolution and Human Behavior. View summary

Zuniga, A., Stevenson, R. J., Mahmut, M. K., & Stephen, I. D. (in press). Diet quality and the attractiveness of male body odor. Evolution and Human Behavior. View summary

Fertility and fairness. 03 May 2016

Fertility and fairness: We look at how the menstrual cycle influences women's sharing behaviour, and find out why your hormones (and the hormones of other women) have an impact on what you feel is fair.

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Fertility and Fairness

New research suggests that, when women are most fertile, they demand more from their exchanges with other women. Dwayne Bent/Flickr

The articles covered in the show:

Eisenbruch, A. B., & Roney, J. R. (2016). Conception risk and the ultimatum game: When fertility is high, women demand more. Personality and Individual Differences, 98, 272-274. Read summary

Necka, E. A., Puts, D. A., Dimitroff, S. J., & Norman, G. J. (in press). Other women’s fertility moderates female resource distribution across the menstrual cycle. Evolution and Human Behavior. Read summary

Skin colour and the menstrual cycle. 30 June 2015

Swollen bums and flushed faces: we know that chimpanzees and other primates advertise their fertility with conspicuous physical transformations, but what about humans? In this episode we look at skin colour and the menstrual cycle.

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Participate in my research! The psychology of fail videos (women only) How do you help others?

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Read the transcript! Do Women’s Faces Change Color Over the Menstrual Cycle?

I and my collaborators photographed women multiple times over their cycle and analysed patches of cheek skin for colour changes. Image modified from a photo by Alix Klingenberg.

The articles covered in the show:

Burriss, R. P., Troscianko, J., Lovell, P. G., Fulford, A. J. C., Stevens, M., Quigley, R., Payne, J., Saxton, T. K., & Rowland, H. M. (2015). Changes in women’s facial skin color over the ovulatory cycle are not detectable by the human visual system. PLoS One. Read paper

Lingerie, chocolate, and shopping. 24 Feb 2015

Consumer psychology meets the psychology of attraction: how female fertility influences desire for variety in products. And look but don’t touch: observing male behaviour in lingerie stores.

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More chocolate is always better than less chocolate. But new research shows that women are more interested in getting a good variety of chocolate (and other consumer products) when they're most fertile.

The articles covered in the show:

Moule, K. R., & Fisher, M. (2014). You can look but you cannot touch: Male behaviors observed in lingerie stores. Human Ethology Bulletin, 29(4), 4-17. Read paper

Durante, K. M., & Rae Arsena, A. (in press). Playing the field: The effect of fertility on women’s desire for variety. Journal of Consumer Research. Read summary

Male testosterone, with Melissa Fales. April 2014

This month, in our fifth anniversary episode (WUHOO!), I speak to Melissa Fales of UCLA about her new research on men’s hormone levels and how they vary over the course of their girlfriend’s menstrual cycle. We’ll also look at two other experiments on ovulation and attraction out this month: one on relationship conflict, and another on the sexual allure of musicians.

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We're 5 years old this month! Good Lord, I'm old...

The articles covered in the show:

Fales, M. R., Gildersleeve, K. A., & Haselton, M. G. (in press). Exposure to perceived male rivals raises men’s testosterone on fertile relative to nonfertile days of their partner’s ovulatory cycle. Hormones and Behavior. Read summary

Gangestad, S. W., Garver-Apgar, C. E., Cousins, A. J., & Thornhill, R. (in press). Intersexual conflict across women’s ovulatory cycle. Evolution and Human Behavior. Read summary

Charlton, B. D. (2014). Menstrual cycle phase alters women's sexual preferences for composers of more complex music. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B, 281(1784), 20140403. Read summary

Female competition special. Dec 2013

Fight fight fight! It’s a female competition special! We all know men duke it out in the name of love, honour and occasionally plain boredom, but do women also seek to outcompete members of their own sex? And is this question so controversial we shouldn’t even be asking it?

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The articles covered in the show:

Durante, K. M., Griskevicius, V., Cantú, S. M., & Simpson, J. A. (in press). Money, status, and the ovulatory cycle. Journal of Marketing Research. Read summary

Fink, B. (2014). Female physical characteristics and intra-sexual competition in women. Personality and Individual Differences, 58, 138-141. Read summary

Muñoz-Reyes, J. A., Pita, M., Arjona, M., Sanchez-Pages, S., & Turiegano, E. (in press). Who is the fairest of them all? The independent effect of attractive features and self-perceived attractiveness on cooperation among women. Evolution and Human Behavior. Read summary

Piccoli, V., Foroni, F., & Carnaghi, A. (2013). Comparing group dehumanization and intra-sexual competition among normally ovulating women and hormonal contraceptive users. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 39(12), 1600-1609. Read summary

Vaillancourt, T. (2013). Do human females use indirect aggression as an intrasexual competition strategy? Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, B, 368, 20130080. Read summary

Menstrual cycle special. Oct 2013

This month, it’s a menstrual cycle special. We find out how changes in your hormone levels can influence your attitudes to kissing and dancing, make you flirt more, and even affect the psychology of your partner.

I've covered cyclic effects on mating psychology many, many times before on the podcast. If you want to hear more, click on the label for "human oestrus".

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Yep, it's that time of the month again. Time for another Psychology of Attractiveness Podcast, that is! Ho ho ho.

The articles covered in the show:

Cappelle, T., & Fink, B. (2013). Changes in women’s attractiveness perception of masculine men’s dances across the ovulatory cycle: Preliminary data. Evolutionary Psychology, 11(5), 965-972. Read paper

Cantú, S. M., Simpson, J. A., Griskevicius, V., Weisberg, Y. J., Durante, K. M., & Beal, D. J. (in press). Fertile and selectively flirty: Women’s behavior toward men changes across the ovulatory cycle. Psychological Science. Read paper [pdf]

Wlodarski, R., & Dunbar, R. I. M. (in press). Menstrual cycle effects on attitudes to kissing. Human Nature. Read summary

Cobey, K. D., Buunk, A. P., Pollet, T. V., Klipping, C., & Roberts, S. C. (in press). Men perceive their female partners, and themselves, as more attractive around ovulation. Biological Psychology. Read summary

Face shape changes over the menstrual cycle. Feb 2013

Why cheaters often claim “it didn’t mean anything”, and why perceptions of what constitutes cheating vary from person to person. Also, changing faces: how women’s faces change shape over the menstrual cycle.

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Elisabeth Oberzaucher showed this month that women's faces change shape over the cycle. The images above exaggerate the differences between how women tend to appear around ovulation, when they're most fertile, and a week later, when fertility is lower. What causes the change is not yet known.

The articles covered in the show:

Foster, J. D., & Misra, T. A. (in press). It did not mean anything (about me): Cognitive dissonance theory and the cognitive and affective consequences of romantic infidelity. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships. Read summary

Kruger, D. J., Fisher, M. L. E., R. S., Chopik, W. J., Fitzgerald, C. J., & Stout, S. L. (2013). Was that cheating? Perceptions vary by sex, attachment anxiety, and behavior. Evolutionary Psychology, 11(1), 159-171. Read summary

Oberzaucher, E., Katina, S., Schmehl, S. F., Holzleitner, I. J., & Grammer, K. (2012). The myth of hidden ovulation: Shape and texture changes in the face during the menstrual cycle. Journal of Evolutionary Psychology, 10(4), 163-175. Read summary

Women wear pink when ovulating. Jan 2013

Why a red t-shirt is the same as a red bum, how a poor sense of smell affects your love life, and going "Facebook official": how the social network generation navigate the relationship minefield.

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It must be that time of the month for Kristen Stewart: new research shows that three quarters of women wearing pink or red are currently ovulating, making a pink dress almost as good an indicator of fertility as a chimpanzee's pink bum.

The articles covered in the show:

Beall, A. T., & Tracy, J. L. (in press). Women more likely to wear red or pink at peak fertility. Psychological Science. Read paper [pdf]

Croy, I., Bojanowskia, V., & Hummela, T. (2013). Men without a sense of smell exhibit a strongly reduced number of sexual relationships, women exhibit reduced partnership security – A reanalysis of previously published data. Biological Psychology, 92(2), 292-924. Read summary

Fox, J., Warber, K. M., & Makstaller, D. C. (in press). The role of Facebook in romantic relationship development: An exploration of Knapp’s relational stage model. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships. Read summary

Why do we cuddle? Oct 2012

This month, we find out how the menstrual cycle influences competition and cooperation and why women’s sexual interest takes a nosedive after childbirth. We also ask the question: what’s the point of cuddling? Does it make us feel closer to our partner, or is it just a stepping stone to sex?

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"Ah, a nice cuddle. Cuddles are lovely. Not as lovely as sex, obviously..."

The articles covered in the show:

van Anders, S. M., Edelstein, R. S., Wade, R. M., & Samples-Steele, C. R. (in press). Descriptive experiences and sexual vs. nurturant aspects of cuddling between adult romantic partners. Archives of Sexual Behavior. Read summary

Rupp, H. A., James, T. W., Ketterson, E. D., Sengelaub, D. R., Ditzen, B., & Heiman, J. R. (in press). Lower sexual interest in postpartum women: Relationship to amygdala activation and intranasal oxytocin. Hormones and Behavior. Read summary

Lucas, M., & Koff, E. (in press). How conception risk affects competition and cooperation with attractive women and men. Evolution and Human Behavior. Read summary

Women are prettier near ovulation. April 2012

This month, why seeing red might have less to do with anger than attraction. We also discover if opposites attract when it comes to bodyweight, and find out how the way you walk is tied to your hormones.

If 14 minutes of me blathering on isn't enough for you, I gave an extended interview to Jose Drost-Lopez of Psychtalkradio.com this month. You can download a podcast of that interview here.

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It's that time of the month again! A composite photograph of women at ovulation (a) and later in the cycle when their fertility is lower (b), taken from a paper by Cora Bobst, which is out this month.

The articles covered in the show:

Elliot, A. J., Tracy, J. L., Pazda, A. D., & Beall, A. T. (in press). Red enhances women's attractiveness to men: First evidence suggesting universality. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology. Read summary

Schwarz, S., & Singer, M. (in press). Romantic red revisited: Red enhances men's attraction to young, but not menopausal women. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology. Read summary

Faries, M. D., & Bartholomew, J. B. (in press). The role of body fat in female attractiveness. Evolution and Human Behavior. Read summary

Burke, T. J., Randall, A. K., Corkery, S. A., Young, V. J., & Butler, E. A. (in press). ‘‘You’re going to eat that?’’ Relationship processes and conflict among mixed-weight couples. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships. Read summary

Bobst, C., & Lobmaier, J. S. (in press). Men's preference for the ovulating female is triggered by subtle face shape differences. Hormones and Behavior. Read summary

Fink, B., Hugill, N., & Lange, B. P. (2012). Women’s body movements are a potential cue to ovulation. Personality and Individual Differences, 53(6), 759-763. Read summary