In this month's episode we look at sexuality: why do people who identify as straight sometimes hookup with partners of the same gender? We'll also find out if straight men prefer women who are attracted to other women. This episode also features an interview with Sydni Huxman of Kansas State University, who presented her research on backup partners at the recent HBES conference.
Apostelou, M., Wang, Y., & O, J. (2018). Do men prefer women who are attracted to women? A cross-cultural evolutionary investigation. Personality and Individual Differences, 135, 31-39. Read summary
Huxman, S. A. J., Brandner, J. L., & Brase, G. L. (2018). Friends with potential benefits: Exploring the relationships between individual differences and backup mates. Poster presented at the Human Behavior and Evolution Society Annual Conference.
Kuperberg, A., & Walker, A. (2018). Heterosexual college students who hookup with same-sex partners. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 47(5), 1387-1403. Read summary
Tuesday, July 18, 2017
Earlier this year I posted a bonus episode featuring contributions from students in my undergraduate seminar here at Basel University. ...
Earlier this year I posted a bonus episode featuring contributions from students in my undergraduate seminar here at Basel University. It proved to be one of the more popular episodes of the podcast. This semester I taught a masters level class on the evolutionary psychology of mate preference and, again, gave the students the task of summarising the research papers they found most interesting for a special bonus episode. As before, most of the students are not native English speakers, nor have they recorded audio before. I am super grateful they agreed to be a part of the podcast (especially after I freaked them out by telling them how many people listened to the previous bonus episode!).
The articles covered in the show (in order of appearance):
Sebastiaan:
Singh, D. & Luis, S. (1995). Ethnic and gender consensus for the effect of waist-to-hip ratio on judgment of women's attractiveness. Human Nature, 6(1), 51-65. Read summary
Elena:
Olderbak, S. G., Malter, F., Wolf, P. S. A., Jones, D. N., & Figueredo, A. J. (2017). Predicting romantic interest at zero acquaintance: Evidence of sex differences in trait perception but not in predictors of interest. European Journal of Personality, 31(1), 42-62. Read summary
Lara:
Ha, T., van den Berg, J. E. M., Engels, R. C. M. E., & Lichtwarck-Aschoff, A. (2012). Effects of attractiveness and status in dating desire in homosexual and heterosexual men and women. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 41(3), 673-682. Read summary
Babice:
Dixson, B. J., Vasey, P. L., Sagata, K., Sibanda, N., Linklater, W. L., & Dixson, A. F. (2011). Men’s preferences for women’s breast morphology in New Zealand, Samoa, and Papua New Guinea. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 40(6), 1271-1279. Read summary
Katrin:
Sherlock, J. M., Sidari, M. J., Harris, E. A., Barlow, F. K., & Zietsch, B. P. (2016). Testing the mate-choice hypothesis of the female orgasm: Disentangling traits and behaviours. Socioaffective Neuroscience & Psychology, 6(1), 31562. Read summary
Sabrina:
Wlodarski, R., & Dunbar, R. I. M. (2013). Menstrual cycle effects on attitudes to kissing. Human Nature, 24(4), 402-413. Read summary
Natascha:
Tracy, J. L., & Beall, A. T. (2014). The impact of weather on women’s tendency to wear red or pink when at high risk for conception. PLoS One, 9(2), e88852. Read summary
Antonia:
Krems, J. A., Neel, R., Neuberg, S. L., Puts, D. A., & Kenrick, D. T. (2016). Women selectively guard their (desirable) mates from ovulating women. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 110(4), 551-573. Read summary
Samuele:
Perrett, D. I., Lee, K. J., Penton-Voak, I. S., Rowland, D. R., Yoshikawa, S., Burt, D. M., et al. (1998). Effects of sexual dimorphism on facial attractiveness. Nature, 394, 884-887. Read summary
James:
Dixson, B. J., & Brooks, R. C. (2013). The role of facial hair in women's perceptions of men's attractiveness, health, masculinity and parenting abilities. Evolution and Human Behavior, 34(3), 236-241. Read summary
Sebastian:
Lefevre, C. E., & Perrett, D. I. (2015). Fruit over sunbed: Carotenoid skin coloration is found more attractive than melanin coloration. The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 68(2), 284-293. Read summary
Denise:
Kaufman, S. B., Kozbelt, A., Silvia, P., Kaufman, J. C., Ramesh, S., & Feist, G. J. (2016). Who finds Bill Gates sexy? Creative mate preferences as a function of cognitive ability, personality, and creative achievement. The Journal of Creative Behavior, 50(4), 294-307. Read summary
Julia:
Apostelou, M., Kasapi, K., & Arakliti, A. (2015). Will they do as we wish? An investigation of the effectiveness of parental manipulation of mating behavior. Evolutionary Psychological Science, 1(1), 28-36. Read summary
Tita:
DeBruine, L. M., Jones, B. C., & Little, A. C. (2017). Positive sexual imprinting for human eye color. bioRxiv, 135244. Read summary
Tuesday, November 22, 2016
In a belated attempt to understand the results of the recent US elections, we harness the power of attractiveness psychology (because po...
In a belated attempt to understand the results of the recent US elections, we harness the power of attractiveness psychology (because polling doesn't seem to work). Do we vote for candidates based on their voices? Is our party political preference linked to our sexual behaviour? We find out in this month's show.
Hatemi, P. K., Crabtree, C., & McDermott, R. (2017). The relationship between sexual preferences and political orientations: Do positions in the bedroom affect positions in the ballot box? Personality and Individual Differences, 105, 318-325. doi:10.1016/j.paid.2016.10.008
Pavela Banai, I., Banai, B., & Bovan, K. (in press). Vocal characteristics of presidential candidates can predict the outcome of actual elections Evolution and Human Behavior. doi:10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2016.10.012
Tuesday, July 28, 2015
With gay marriage now legal in the USA (not to mention, Sweden, New Zealand, Uruguay, and the Pitcairn Islands), let’s look at how same-sex ...
With gay marriage now legal in the USA (not to mention, Sweden, New Zealand, Uruguay, and the Pitcairn Islands), let’s look at how same-sex attraction develops during adolescence. Is same-sex attraction stable during teenage years, and what are lesbians’ first memories of same-sex attraction?
Two new research studies show how LGBT identities form during adolescence.
The articles covered in the show:
Hu, Y., Xu, Y., & Tornello, S. L. (in press). Stability of self-reported same-sex and both-sex attraction from adolescence to young adulthood. Archives of Sexual Behavior. Read summary
McClelland, S. I., Rubin, J. D., & Bauermeister, J. A. (in press). “I liked girls and I thought they were pretty”: Initial memories of same-sex attraction in young lesbian and bisexual women. Archives of Sexual Behavior. Read summary
Wednesday, January 28, 2015
Why do women have sex? We find out, using the YSEX? questionnaire . Also, how to stop the ‘thin ideal’ messing with our minds. And forget St...
Why do women have sex? We find out, using the YSEX? questionnaire. Also, how to stop the ‘thin ideal’ messing with our minds. And forget Star Wars - it’s time for Sperm Wars: are men turned on by pornography that depicts ‘sperm competition’?
Most women in the media are skinny, and consumers are taking this 'thin ideal' to heart. But what happens if we tell them that men prefer larger women?
The articles covered in the show:
Armstrong, H. L., & Reissing, E. D. (in press). Women’s motivations to have sex in casual and committed relationships with male and female partners. Archives of Sexual Behavior. Read summary
Meltzer, A. L., & McNulty, J. K. (in press). Telling women that men desire women with bodies larger than the thin-ideal improves women’s body satisfaction. Social Psychological and Personality Science. Read summary
Prokop, P. (2015). Perception of intensity of sperm competition on the part of males. Personality and Individual Differences, 76, 99-103. Read summary
Monday, March 03, 2014
This month, does Botox really make you appear younger, healthier and more attractive? Can we predict whether a woman will fall in love or lu...
This month, does Botox really make you appear younger, healthier and more attractive? Can we predict whether a woman will fall in love or lust with a man at first sight? And why Vladimir Putin is the world’s most confusing homophobe.
A graph illustrating Plant's finding that people who are especially worried about being perceived as gay (high contagion) and who undergo a mating prime (being made to think about romantic partners) are more likely to express anti-gay attitudes. Note that warmth is lower amongst both the high contagion group and the mating prime group, but that it is only very low amongst those who are high contagion AND mating primed.
The articles covered in the show:
Fink, B., & Prager, M. (2014). The effect of incobotulinumtoxin A and dermal filler treatment on perception of age, health, and attractiveness of female faces. Journal of Clinical & Aesthetic Dermatology, 7(1), 36-40. Read paper
Valentine, K. A., Li, N. P., Penke, L., & Perrett, D. I. (in press). Judging a man by the width of his face: The role of facial ratios and dominance in mate choice at speed-dating events. Psychological Science. Read summary
Plant, E. A., Zielaskowski, K., & Buck, D. M. (in press). Mating motives and concerns about being misidentified as gay or lesbian: Implications for the avoidance and derogation of sexual minorities. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin. Read summary
Sunday, February 02, 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 f...
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?
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
Tuesday, April 30, 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...
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.
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
Monday, December 06, 2010
Can a GSOH snag you an STR? Are you more likely to be dumped after an affair with a man or a woman? And how does voting in an election turn ...
Can a GSOH snag you an STR? Are you more likely to be dumped after an affair with a man or a woman? And how does voting in an election turn you into a porn addict?
When adult movie star Mary Carey stood for election as governor of California, it seemed more than a little bizarre (even when she lost to a cyborg bodybuilder). But new research by Markey and Markey shows that politics and porn might be more closely linked than even Carey had considered.
The articles covered in the show:
Kelley, T. C., & Hare, J. F. (2010). Pair-bonded humans conform to sexual stereotypes in web-based advertisements for extra-marital partners. Evolutionary Psychology, 8(3), 561-572. Read paper
Confer, J. C., & Cloud, M. D. (2011). Sex differences in response to imagining a partner’s heterosexual or homosexual affair. Personality and Individual Differences, 50(2), 129-134. Read summary
Markey, P. M., & Markey, C. N. (2010). Changes in pornography-seeking behaviors following political elections: an examination of the challenge hypothesis. Evolution and Human Behavior, 31(6), 442-446. Read summary
Monday, August 30, 2010
Is it possible to tell whether someone is gay, straight or bi just by looking at them? We also find out once and for all which colour of clo...
Is it possible to tell whether someone is gay, straight or bi just by looking at them? We also find out once and for all which colour of clothing is the best for boosting beauty, and discover the surprising truth about attractiveness and self-esteem.
Freeman, J. B., Johnson, K. L., Ambady, N., & Rule, N. O. (In press). Sexual orientation perception involves gendered facial cues. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin.Read summary
Roberts, S. C., Owen, R. C., & Havlíček, J. (2010). Distinguishing between perceiver and wearer effects in clothing color-associated attributions. Evolutionary Psychology, 8(3), 350-364. Read article
Mares, S. H. W., de Leeuw, R. N. H., Scholte, R. H. J., & Engels, R. C. M. E. (2010). Facial attractiveness and self-esteem in adolescence. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 39(5), 627-637. Read summary
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
We’re back after a short Christmas break to find out whether people who are good at sports are better looking than us average Joes. We also ...
We’re back after a short Christmas break to find out whether people who are good at sports are better looking than us average Joes. We also discover how preferences for facial masculinity are related to a person’s sexuality and their sensitivity to disgust.
What's under the helmet? Williams and colleagues show that better quarterbacks tend to be better looking.
The articles covered in the show:
Glassenberg, A. N., Feinberg, D. R., Jones, B. C., Little, A. C., & DeBruine, L. M. (In Press). Sex-dimorphic face shape preference in heterosexual and homosexual men and women. Archives of Sexual Behavior.Read summary
DeBruine, L. M., Jones, B. C., Tybur, J. M., Lieberman, D., & Griskevicius, V. (2010). Women's preferences for masculinity in male faces are predicted by pathogen disgust, but not by moral or sexual disgust. Evolution and Human Behavior, 31(1), 69-74. Read summary
Williams, K. M., Park, J. H., & Wieling, M. B. (2010). The face reveals athletic flair: better National Football League quarterbacks are better looking. Personality and Individual Differences, 48(2), 112-116. Read summary
This is the archive for the Psychology of Attractiveness Podcast, a science show covering the most interesting and cutting edge research on the psychology of attraction and relationships. The podcast was active between 2009 and 2019. All episodes remain available.
The podcast was produced by Dr Robert Burriss, a psychologist who has held research posts at universities in the UK, USA, and Switzerland.
