PAP: 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

PAP: Barnaby Dixson extended interview

Episode 50! An extended interview with Barnaby Dixson of the University of New South Wales. We discuss research on facial hair and attractiveness, both Barnaby's own work and the wider research area. We cover the evolution of facial hair, the history of facial hair research, detail some of the ways Barnaby works to control confounding variables in his experiments, and find out whether researching facial hair has made Barnaby more or less likely to cultivate his very own chin warmer.

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Ryan Gosling, you bastard. One man who looks great whether clean shaven, stubbled, or heavily bearded. The rest of us look at our best when we're clean shaven. Or is that heavily bearded? Or stubbled? Barnaby Dixson clears it up in this special episode.

The articles covered in the show:

Dixson, B. J., & Brooks, R. C. (in press). The role of facial hair in women's perceptions of men's attractiveness, health, masculinity and parenting abilities. Evolution and Human Behavior. Read summary

Dixson, B. J., & Vasey, P. L. (2012). Beards augment perceptions of men's age, social status, and aggressiveness, but not attractiveness. Behavioral Ecology, 23(3), 481-490. Read summary

PAP: April 2013

This month, is gaydar real? Can we tell whether a person is gay or straight, or even whether they adopt particular sexual roles, purely from their facial appearance? I talk to Konstantin Tskhay to find out. I also talk to Barnaby Dixson and discover what type of facial hair is the most attractive, and whether men with bushier beards make better fathers.

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In HBO's new Liberace biopic, Behind the Candelabra, Matt Damon short circuits even the least sensitive gaydar. But does gaydar really exist? Maybe. New research by Konstantin Tskhay suggests that, not only can we tell if a person is straight or gay, we can even accurately guess their preferred sexual role.

The articles covered in the show:

Bogaert, A. F., & Liu, J. (in press). Physical size and sexual orientation: Analysis of the Chinese Health and Family Life Survey. Archives of Sexual Behavior. Read summary

Dixson, B. J., & Brooks, R. C. (in press). The role of facial hair in women's perceptions of men's attractiveness, health, masculinity and parenting abilities. Evolution and Human Behavior. Read summary

Moskowitz, D. A., Turrubiates, J., Lozano, H., & Hajek, C. (in press). Physical, behavioral, and psychological traits of gay men identifying as bears. Archives of Sexual Behavior. Read summary

Tskhay, K. O., & Rule, N. O. (in press). Accurate identification of a preference for insertive versus receptive intercourse from static facial cues of gay men. Archives of Sexual Behavior. Read summary

PAP: March 2013

This month it’s all about the weird science of attraction. We’ll hear about the work of three research teams who dared to pose curious questions, tested their hypotheses on peculiar populations, and discovered that unusual investigations can yield back to front results. Also, I interview Michelle Heron-Delaney of The University of Queensland about her recent developmental study of body attractiveness perception.

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How attractive is this man? Does that sound like a weird question? Well, Keiichi Yonemura asked it of the participants in one of his experiments, the results of which I discuss in this month's podcast.

The articles covered in the show:

Michniewicz, K. S., & Vandello, J. A. (in press). The attractive underdog: When disadvantage bolsters attractiveness. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships. Read summary

Heron-Delaney, M., Quinn, P. C., Lee, K., Slater, A. M., & Pascalis, O. (2013). Nine-month-old infants prefer unattractive bodies over attractive bodies. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 115(1), 30-41. Read summary

Yonemura, K., Ono, F., & Watanabe, K. (2013). Back view of beauty: a bias in attractiveness judgment. Perception, 42(1), 95-102. Read summary

PAP: February 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

PAP: 2013 Valentines special

What better day to discuss attraction than Valentines? Here's a special episode with an interview I gave a couple of weeks ago. The conversation ranges from the influence of the media on what we perceive as attractive, to attractiveness and race, the appealing odour of male sweat, and why Brad Pitt is the perfect man.

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Is Brad your ideal Valentine? Yes. Yes, he is.

PAP: January 2013

This month, 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

PAP: December 2012

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.

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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

PAP: November 2012

This month, “it’s not you, it’s not me, it’s where we live”: how environment can influence break up decisions. Also, gender differences in sexual regret, and how video games can get a man in the mood for love.

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Cheat activated! Welling had men play a video game, but didn't tell them that the person they were playing against was cheating. Sneaky!

The articles covered in the show:

Hogerbrugge, M. J. A., Komter, A. E., & Scheepers, P. (in press). Dissolving long-term romantic relationships: Assessing the role of the social context. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships. Read summary

Galperin, A., Haselto n, M. G., Frederick, D. A., Poore, J., von Hippel, W., Buss, D. M., et al. (in press). Sexual regret: Evidence for evolved sex differences. Archives of Sexual Behavior. Read summary

Welling, L. L. M., Persola, L., Wheatley, J. R., Cárdenas, R. A., & Puts, D. A. (2013). Competition and men's face preferences. Personality and Individual Differences, 54(3), 414-419. Read summary

PAP: October 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

PAP: September 2012

The importance of attractiveness to reproduction, and of reproduction to happiness. And how an appreciation for physical beauty may be linked to a fear of falling ill.

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Lena Pflüger found this month that women who have had lots of children tend to have a feminine, more attractive face shape.

The articles covered in the show:

Pflüger, L. S., Oberzaucher, E., Katina, S., Holzleitner, I. J., & Grammer, K. (in press). Cues to fertility: perceived attractiveness and facial shape predict reproductive success. Evolution and Human Behavior. Read summary

Onyishi, E. I., Sorokowski, P., Sorokowska, A., & Pipitone, R. N. (in press). Children and marital satisfaction in a non-Western sample: having more children increases marital satisfaction among the Igbo people of Nigeria. Evolution and Human Behavior. Read summary

Watkins, C. D., DeBruine, L. M., Little, A. C., Feinberg, D. R., & Jones, B. C. (in press). Priming concerns about pathogen threat versus resource scarcity: dissociable effects on women’s perceptions of men’s attractiveness and dominance. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology. Read summary

Prokop, P., Rantala, M. J., Usak, M., & Senay, I. (in press). Is a woman's preference for chest hair in men influenced by parasite threat? Archives of Sexual Behavior. Read summary

PAP: August 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