Video games get men horny. Nov 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., Haselton, 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

Why do we cuddle? Oct 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..." Freestocks

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

Feminine faced women have more kids. Sept 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

Women are prettier near ovulation. April 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

Sport, the Olympics, and attractiveness. July 2012

The Olympics are upon us, but what's the point of all that hard work? Except for the gold medals, glory and lucrative sponsorship deals that is. We also find out how a brief writing exercise can make you a sucker for a cheap chat up line, and why the Mormons had it right about polygamy the first time.

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Nice one, Mo. But seriously, what was the point? Jon Connell/Flickr

The articles covered in the show:

Brewer, G., & Howarth, S. (2012). Sport, attractiveness and aggression. Personality and Individual Differences, 53(5), 640-643. Read summary

Lewandowski Jr, G. W., Ciarocco, N. J., Pettanato, M., & Stephan, J. (in press). Pick me up: Ego depletion and receptivity to relationship initiation. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships. Read summary

Starkweather, K. E., & Hames, R. (in press). A survey of non-classical polyandry. Human Nature. Read summary

Infidelity special. June 2012

An infidelity special! We look at three lines of research that shed new light on how we strive to save our relationships from those out to poach our partners, why some are disposed to be home wreckers while others aren’t, and how parenthood can blind us to our partner’s indiscretions.

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Two's company...

The articles covered in the show:

Starratt, V. G., & Shackelford, T. K. (2012). He said, she said: Men’s reports of mate value and mate retention behaviors in intimate relationships. Personality and Individual Differences, 53(4), 459-462. Read summary

Sunderani, S., Arnocky, S., & Vaillancourt, T. (in press). Individual differences in mate poaching: An examination of hormonal, dispositional, and behavioral mate-value traits. Archives of Sexual Behavior. Read summary

Bressan, P., & Dal Pos, S. (in press). Fathers see stronger family resemblances than non-fathers in unrelated children’s faces. Archives of Sexual Behavior. Read summary

Laziness and mating behaviour. May 2012

We find out who’s lazier – men or women – and what this might mean for your love life. We also discover why men who are good with children prefer women with larger breasts, and why you should never trust a man who likes horror movies.

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Men prefer to lie in longer than women, but who gets more sleep overall? And what does sleep duration have to do with mating behaviour? We find out in this month's episode.

The articles covered in the show:

Randler, C., Ebenhöh, N., Fischer, A., Höchel, S., Schroff, S., Stoll, J. C., et al. (2012). Eveningness is related to men’s mating success. Personality and Individual Differences, 53, 263-267. Read summary

Burris, C. T., & Munteanu, A. R. (in press). Preferred female body proportions among child-free men. Archives of Sexual Behavior. Read summary

Dosmukhambetova, D., & Manstead, A. S. R. (2012). Fear attenuated and affection augmented: male self-presentation in a romantic context. Journal of Nonverbal Behavior, 36(2), 135-147. Read summary

Disgust sensitivity and attraction. April 2012

Why men are attracted to women who’ve necked a few too many Bacardi Breezers, how your reaction to dog poo is related to how you judge beauty, and why women’s sexual fantasies get kinkier towards the middle of the month.

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Bieber thinks you're ugly. New research out this month suggests that unattractive people appear especially unappealing to people who are sensitive to disgust in their everyday lives.

The articles covered in the show:

Goetz, C. D., Easton, J. A., Lewis, D. M. G., & Buss, D. M. (in press). Sexual exploitability: observable cues and their link to sexual attraction. Evolution and Human Behavior. Read summary

Dawson, S. J., Suschinsky, K. D., & Lalumière, M. L. (2012). Sexual fantasies and viewing times across the menstrual cycle: a diary study. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 41(1), 173-183. Read summary

Park, J. H., van Leeuwen, F., & Stephen, I. D. (in press). Homeliness is in the disgust sensitivity of the beholder: relatively unattractive faces appear especially unattractive to individuals higher in pathogen disgust Evolution and Human Behavior. Read summary

Eating fruit and veg makes you prettier. March 2012

Why a gameshow host’s chiselled jawline can make his contestants smarter, the exact number of daily portions of fruit and veg that are required to boost beauty, and why counting money makes men choosier.

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New research shows that The Voice's format is right for the wrong reasons: by concealing the contestants from the judges, the judges aren't influenced by appearances, but also, by preventing the contestants from seeing the judges, performances aren't given an unfair boost.

The articles covered in the show:

Whitehead, R. D., Re, D., Xiao, D., Ozakinci, G., & Perrett, D. I. (2012). You are what you eat: within-subject increases in fruit and vegetable consumption confer beneficial skin-color changes. PLoS ONE, 7(3). Read summary

Yong, J. C., & Li, N. P. (in press). Cash in hand, want better looking mate: Significant resource cues raise men’s mating standards. Personality and Individual Differences. Read summary

Flowe, H. D., Swords, E., & Rockey, J. C. (in press). Women's behavioural engagement with a masculine male heightens during the fertile window: evidence for the cycle shift hypothesis. Evolution and Human Behavior. Read summary

Women smell better when ovulating. Feb 2012

How variation in our natural body odour could put pay to the perfume industry. Whether healthy faces belong to healthy people. And I finally turn self-help guru and dish out some advice on how to stop your one night stands demanding a wedding ring.

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"Helen suddenly remembered that it was day 23 of her cycle." New research by Kelly Gildersleeve shows that women's body odour is slightly more attractive around ovulation, and slightly less attractive a few days later, when fertility is low.

The articles covered in the show:

Gildersleeve, K. A., Haselton, M. G., Larsen, C. M., & Pillsworth, E. G. (2012). Body odor attractiveness as a cue of impending ovulation in women: Evidence from a study using hormone-confirmed ovulation. Hormones and Behavior, 61(2), 157-166. Read summary

Gray, A. W., & Boothroyd, L. G. (2012). Female facial appearance and health. Evolutionary Psychology, 10(1), 66-77. Read paper

Jonason, P. K., & Buss, D. M. (2012). Avoiding entangling commitments: Tactics for implementing a short-term mating strategy. Personality and Individual Differences, 52(5), 606-610. Read summary

Attractive men boost your memory. Jan 2012

An experiment that shows we really do like what we see. Also, how voices can cycle from attractive to unattractive and back again, and why you’re more likely to remember a fish if you see it next to an attractive man’s face. Yep, that's not a typo...

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According to research by Kevin Allan, you are unlikely to forget this fish.

The articles covered in the show:

Re, D. E., Coetzee, V., Xiao, D., Buls, D., Tiddeman, B. P., Boothroyd, L. G., et al. (2011). Viewing heavy bodies enhances preferences for facial adiposity. Journal of Evolutionary Psychology, 9(4), 295-308. Read summary

Allan, K., Jones, B. C., DeBruine, L. M., & Smith, D. S. (in press). Evidence of adaptation for mate choice within women's memory. Evolution and Human Behavior. Read summary

Pipitone, R. N., & Gallup, G. G. (in press). The unique impact of menstruation on the female voice: implications for the evolution of menstrual cycle cues. Ethology. Read summary