Are you sick of how you smell? We investigate the link between susceptibility to disease and attraction to the body odour of others and ourselves. Also, how do women choose to wear red clothes?
Our natural perfume can attract, or repel, potential mates: and sometimes ourselves! wackystuff/Flickr
The articles covered in the show:
Muggleton, N. K., & Fincher, C. L. (in press). The effects of disease vulnerability on preferences for self-similar scent. Evolutionary Psychological Science. Read paper
Niesta Kayser, D., Agthe, M., & Maner, J. K. (2016). Strategic sexual signals: Women's display versus avoidance of the color red depends on the attractiveness of an anticipated interaction partner. PLoS One, 11(3), e0148501. Read paper
Red or dead: In this episode we investigate the allure of violent video games, and how they relate to sex. Also, does the colour red increase a man's attractiveness?
Nice codpiece! Does dressing in red make a man sexier?
The articles covered in the show:
Elliot, A. J., Kayser, M., Greitemeyer, T., Lichtenfeld, S., Gramzow, R. H., Maier, M. A., et al. (2010). Red, rank, and romance in women viewing men. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 139(3), 399-417. Read summary
Hesslinger, V. M., Goldbach, L., & Carbon, C.-C. (in press). Men in red: A reexamination of the red-attractiveness effect. Psychonomic Bulletin and Review. Read summary
Kasumovic, M. M., Blake, K., Dixson, B. J., & Denson, T. F. (2015). Why do people play violent video games? Demographic, status-related, and mating-related correlates in men and women. Personality and Individual Differences, 86, 204-211. Read summary
Prokop, P., Pazda, A. D., & Elliot, A. J. (2015). Influence of conception risk and sociosexuality on female attraction to male red. Personality and Individual Differences, 87, 166-170. Read summary
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.
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
Stay out of the sun! New research suggests that the skin colour change associated with sun tanning isn't as attractive as the effects of eating carotenoid-rich fruits and vegetables, like tomatoes, pumpkins, and spinach. Can an attractive personality make you appear more attractive? And we find out why when women see red, women see red.
I was interviewed by Prof. Alice Roberts this month for an episode of BBC Radio 4's Inside Science. Click here and skip to 24.40 to hear me defend Evolutionary Psychology with all my (feeble) might!
Scoff the orange, but scoff it in the shade: new research by Carmen Lefevre shows that the skin colour we get from eating carotenoid rich foods is more attractive than the colour we get from tanning.
The articles covered in the show:
Mautz, B. S., Wong, B. B. M., Peters, R. A., & Jennions, M. D. (2013). Penis size interacts with body shape and height to influence male attractiveness. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 110(17), 6925-6930. Read summary
Lefevre, C. E., & Perrett, D. I. (in press). Fruit over sunbed: Carotenoid skin coloration is found more attractive than melanin coloration. The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology. Read summary
Zhang, Y., Kong, F., Zhong, Y., & Kou, H. (2014). Personality manipulations: Do they modulate facial attractiveness ratings? Personality and Individual Differences, 70, 80-84. Read summary
Pazda, A. D., Prokop, P., & Elliot, A. J. (in press). Red and romantic rivalry: viewing another woman in red increases perceptions of sexual receptivity, derogration, and intentions to mate-guard. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin. Read summary
This month we find out what a woman wants in a man can tell us about the type of relationship she desires, and why seeing red puts men in the mood for love. Also, finding it difficult to convince women to give you their phone number? We discover a simple method of doubling your success rate: buy a guitar!
Would you give your phone number to this man? Nicolas Gueguen has found that women are more likely to give their digits to a fireman or to a man with a guitar.
The articles covered in the show:
Goetz, C. D. (2013). What do women’s advertised mate preferences reveal? An analysis of video dating profiles. Evolutionary Psychology, 11(2), 383-391. Read paper
Prokop, P., & Hromada, M. (in press). Women use red in order to attract mates. Ethology. Read summary
Guéguen, N., Meineri, S., & Fischer-Lokou, J. (in press). Men’s music ability and attractiveness to women in a real-life courtship context. Psychology of Music. Read summary
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.
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
This month, why a good sense of humour is sometimes attractive and sometimes not so much, how fruit consumption affects appearance, and why high heels elevate attractiveness.
Stephen Merchant's stand up act is based on his apparent inability to win over women. But new research by Mary Cowan suggests that people's ideas about what constitutes a GSOH are more flexible than we previously thought. So keep plugging away, Smerch!
The articles covered in the show:
Cowan, M. L., & Little, A. C. (2013). The effects of relationship context and modality on ratings of funniness. Personality and Individual Differences, 54(4), 496-500. Read summary
Morris, P. H., White, J., Morrison, E. R., & Fisher, K. (in press). High heels as supernormal stimuli: How wearing high heels affects judgements of female attractiveness. Evolution and Human Behavior.Read summary
Whitehead, R. D., Ozakinci, G., & Perrett, D. I. (2012). Attractive skin coloration: Harnessing sexual selection to improve diet and health. Evolutionary Psychology, 10(5), 842-854. Read summary
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.
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
