Do opposites attract? Attractiveness and differences among couples. 30 Aug 2016

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Do opposites attract? We look at two studies of couples who are different in some way. Are couple who don't match in attractiveness less trusting of another? And do couples who have different body shapes attract prejudice and discrimination?

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“Date Someone Your own Size”

♪ When You’re in Love With a Beautiful Woman (or Handsome Man)… ♫

Is your partner bigger or smaller than you, and what does this mean for your relationship? bingham30069/Flickr

The articles covered in the show:

Collisson, B., Howell, J. L., Rusbasan, D., & Rosenfeld, E. (in press). “Date someone your own size”: Prejudice and discrimination toward mixed-weight relationships. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships. Read summary

Oltmanns, J. R., Markey, P. M., & French, J. E. (in press). Dissimilarity in physical attractiveness within romantic dyads and mate retention behaviors. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships. Read summary

Just after I posted this episode, I read about this new study by Sela and colleagues which was also really interesting: it's like the Oltmanns' mate retention study except with self-ratings of attractiveness.

Perfume and pheromones: The attractiveness of odor. 31 May 2016

We discover why beauty is in the nose of the beholder in this odor special. We'll find out whether spraying scented deodorant all over your body can make your smell more masculine or feminine, and we'll also learn if a man's whole mating psychology is turned topsy turvy when he catches a whiff of female pheromones.

Also, this is episode 100 of the podcast so if you want to send me lots of gifts then go right ahead.

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Perfume and Pheromones: Why Beauty is in the Nose of the Beholder

Scents -- whether natural or artificial -- can influence what we find attractive and even how we see ourselves. J. Sibiga/Flickr

The articles covered in the show:

Allen, C., Cobey, K. D., Havlíček, J., & Roberts, S. C. (in press). The impact of artificial fragrances on the assessment of mate quality cues in body odor. Evolution and Human Behavior. Read summary

Williams, M. N., & Jacobson, A. (2016). Effect of copulins on rating of female attractiveness, mate-guarding, and self-perceived sexual desirability. Evolutionary Psychology, 14(2). Read summary

How 'coalitional mate retention' tactics prevent your partner cheating. 7 April 2015

With a little help from my friends: How we use 'coalitional mate retention' tactics to prevent our partner cheating. We take a look at two new experiments that uncover how our friends work to keep our partners faithful.

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Friends Help Friends Keep Partners Faithful

New research shows how friends work to keep our partners faithful, and reveals how they decide to expose any infidelities they detect.

The articles covered in the show:

Barbaro, N., Pham, M. N., & Shackelford, T. K. (in press). Solving the problem of partner infidelity: Individual mate retention, coalitional mate retention, and in-pair copulation frequency. Personality and Individual Differences. Read summary

Pham, M. N., Barbaro, N., Mogilski, J. K., & Shackelford, T. K. (2015). Coalitional mate retention is correlated positively with friendship quality involving women, but negatively with male-male friendship quality. Personality and Individual Differences, 79, 87-90. 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

Islamic veiling (hijab) and attractiveness. Jan 2014

Do Muslim men find women more attractive when they wear a hijab, burqa, or none of the above? How does sexuality influence our preferences for tall or short partners? And what are the best things to look for in a partner if you’re planning to take them home to meet the parents?

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Pazhoohi and Hosseinchari reported this month that men find women who wear a full veil (chador) are less attractive than women who wear clothes that don't conceal the body. But does the effect depend on the body shape of the wearer, or whether men judge women's attractiveness for a long- or short-term relationship?

The articles covered in the show:

Pazhoohi, F., & Hosseinchari, M. (in press). Effects of religious veiling on muslim men’s attractiveness ratings of muslim women. Archives of Sexual Behavior. Read summary

Valentova, J. V., Stulp, G., Třebický, V., & Havlíček, J. (2014). Preferred and actual relative height among homosexual male partners vary with preferred dominance and sex role. PLoS One, 9(1), e86534. Read paper

Apostelou, M. (2014). Parental choice: Exploring in-law preferences and their contingencies in the Greek-Cypriot culture. Evolutionary Psychology, 12(1), 54-72. Read paper

Smiling and beauty. July 2013

Why we prefer our partners to be more like us, and why we want to be more like our rivals. Also, new research on emotional expression and beauty that gives us all something to smile about.

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New research shows that smiling makes you more attractive than a grumpy beauty. So turn that frown upside down!

The articles covered in the show:

Laeng, B., Vermeer, O., & Sulutvedt, U. (2013). Is beauty in the face of the beholder? PLoS One, 8(7), e68395. Read summary

Slotter, E. B., Lucas, G. M., Jakubiak, B., & Lasslett, H. (in press). Changing me to keep you: State jealousy promotes perceiving similarity between the self and a romantic rival. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin. Read summary

Golle, J., Mast, F. W., & Lobmaier, J. S. (in press). Something to smile about: The interrelationship between attractiveness and emotional expression. Cognition & Emotion. Read summary

Oral sex, with Michael Pham. May 2013

What is the point of oral sex? I talk to Michael Pham of Oakland University to find out. Also, do tattoos make women more or less attractive? Quick answer: it depends.

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Michael Douglas revealed today that he thinks his throat cancer might have been caused by cunnilingus. If he's right, that's one downside of oral sex. But are there other costs to weigh against the (obvious) benefits of oral sex? I speak to Michael Pham, who researches the link between oral sex and jealousy-motivated mate retention behaviours.

The articles covered in the show:

Pham, M. N., & Shackelford, T. K. (2013). Oral sex as mate retention behavior. Personality and Individual Differences, 55(2), 185-188. Read summary

Pham, M. N., Shackelford, T. K., Sela, Y., & Welling, L. L. M. (2013). Is cunnilingus-assisted orgasm a male sperm-retention strategy? Evolutionary Psychology, 11(2), 405-414. Read paper

Guéguen, N. (in press). Effects of a tattoo on men’s behavior and attitudes towards women: An experimental field study. Archives of Sexual Behavior. Read summary