Absolute power corrupts absolutely, but does it turn you into a cheat? Also, can a high-powered computer program work out what makes a face attractive? And why are women who prefer marriage to a short-term fling more forgiving of a wonky nose?

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Did Bill cheat because power went to his head? And would Hillary have done the same thing in his shoes? New research by Joris Lammers suggests some answers.

The articles covered in the show:

Lammers, J. S., J. I., Jordan, J., Pollman, M., & Stapel, D. A. (2011). Power increases infidelity among men and women. Psychological Science, 22(9), 1191-1197. Read summary

Said, C. P., & Todorov, A. (2011). A statistical model of facial attractiveness. Psychological Science, 22(9), 1183-1190. Read summary

Quist, M. C., Watkins, C. D., Smith, F. G., Little, A. C., DeBruine, L. M., & Jones, B. C. (in press). Sociosexuality predicts women’s preferences for symmetry in men’s faces. Archives of Sexual Behavior. Read summary

How we tell the difference between two attractive faces, how hypochondria influences your partner preferences, and Meet the Parents: why mum and dad so often disapprove of who their children bring home to dinner.

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Why do our parents so often disapprove of our romantic choices? Perilloux et al. explain all in their recent paper.

The articles covered in the show:

Perilloux, C., Fleischman, D. S., & Buss, D. M. (2011). Meet the parents: Parent-offspring convergence and divergence in mate preferences. Personality and Individual Differences, 50(2), 253-258. Read summary

Bailey, D. H., Durante, K. M., & Geary, D. C. (in press). Men's perception of women's attractiveness is calibrated to relative mate value and dominance of the women's partner. Evolution and Human Behavior. Read summary

Little, A. C., DeBruine, L. M., & Jones, B. C. (in press). Exposure to visual cues of pathogen contagion changes preferences for masculinity and symmetry in opposite-sex faces. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B. Read summary

How partner preferences develop as we move from adolescence to adulthood. We also find out when a woman is most likely to sleep with a stranger, discover how to go about designing the perfect partner, and learn whether big breasts are more popular in New Guinea or New Zealand.

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How do our partner preference evolve through adolescence? Tamsin Saxton reveals all in a new paper out this month.

The articles covered in the show:

Saxton, T. K., Kohoutova, D., Roberts, S. C., Jones, B. C., DeBruine, L. M., & Havlicek, J. (2010). Age, puberty and attractiveness judgments in adolescents. Personality and Individual Differences, 49(8), 857-862. Read summary

Gangestad, S. W., Thornhill, R., & Garver-Apgar, C. E. (2010a). Fertility in the cycle predicts women's interest in sexual opportunism. Evolution and Human Behavior, 31(6), 400-411. Read summary

Gangestad, S. W., Thornhill, R., & Garver-Apgar, C. E. (2010b). Men's facial masculinity predicts changes in their female partners' sexual interests across the ovulatory cycle, whereas men's intelligence does not. Evolution and Human Behavior, 31(6), 412-424. Read summary

Edlund, J. E., & Sagarin, B. J. (2010). Mate value and mate preferences: An investigation into decisions made with and without constraints. Personality and Individual Differences, 49(8), 835-839. Read summary

Dixson, B. J., Vasey, P. L., Sagata, K., Sibanda, N., Linklater, W. L., & Dixson, A. F. (In press). Men’s preferences for women’s breast morphology in New Zealand, Samoa, and Papua New Guinea. Archives of Sexual Behavior. Read summary

Being watched by someone who’s attractive can make you more trustworthy. We also find out how the type of relationship you’re looking for might be related to your ability to read faces, and discover whether it’s the face or the body that contributes most to a person’s physical attractiveness.

If you'd like to see the Sociosexual Orientation Inventory used by Sacco, you can find it here.

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Face or body? Tom Currie and Tony Little have published new research showing whether the body or the face is more important to attractiveness. wbeem/Flickr

The articles covered in the show:

Smith, F. G., DeBruine, L. M., Jones, B. C., Krupp, D. B., Welling, L. L. M., & Conway, C. A. (In Press). Attractiveness qualifies the effect of observation on trusting behavior in an economic game. Evolution and Human Behavior. Read summary

Sacco, D. F., Hugenberg, K., & Sefcek, J. A. (2009). Sociosexuality and face perception: unrestricted sexual orientation facilitates sensitivity to female facial cues. Personality and Individual Differences, 47, 777-782. Read summary

Currie, T. E., & Little, A. C. (In Press). The relative importance of the face and body in judgments of human physical attractiveness. Evolution and Human Behavior. Read summary