Is blonde hair attractive because it's rare? Oct 2014

Tuesday, October 28, 2014 Rob 7 Comments

Is blonde and red hair attractive because of how it looks, or because it’s rare? Also, “my genes made me do it”: can men (or women) blame their cheating ways on their genetic inheritance? And we also continue last month’s foray into the murky world of mate-poaching, and discover the differences between the sexes when it comes to detecting potential partner pilferers.


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Some have theorised that red and blonde hair is attractive because it is rare. New research by Zinnia Janif tests this idea. Image credit: qsimple on flickr.com

The articles covered in the show:

Janif, Z. J., Brooks, R. C., & Dixson, B. J. (in press). Are preferences for women's hair color frequency-dependent? Adaptive Human Behavior and Physiology. Read summary

Ein-Dor, T., Perry, A., Hirschberger, G., Birnbaum, G. E., & Deutsch, D. (in press). Coping with mate poaching: gender differences in detection of infidelity-related threats. Evolution and Human Behavior. Read summary

Zietsch, B. P., Westberg, L., Santtila, P., & Jern, P. (in press). Genetic analysis of human extrapair mating: Heritability, between-sex correlation, and receptor genes for vasopressin and oxytocin. Evolution and Human Behavior. Read summary

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Why single, sex-hungry men crave an iPhone. Sept 2014

Monday, October 06, 2014 Rob 0 Comments

This month we discover which personality traits make a person lucky in love. Also, how men and women respond differently when their partner is complimented, and why single men crave iPhones.


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Rate, review, or listen in iTunes or in Stitcher.


What kind of man is desperate to buy an iPhone? New research suggests it's not only the kind of man who has the time and inclination to make himself a smartphone hat.

The articles covered in the show:

Hennighausen, C., & Schwab, F. (2014). Relationship status moderates men's conspicuous consumption of smartphones. Letters on Evolutionary Behavioral Science, 5(2), 13-16. Read summary

Berg, V., Lummaa, V., Lahdenperä, M., Rotkirch, A., & Jokela, M. (in press). Personality and long-term reproductive success measured by the number of grandchildren. Evolution and Human Behavior. Read summary

Brown, C. M., Daniels, E. R., Lustgraaf, C. J. N., & Sacco, D. F. (2014). Verbal compliments as a differential source of mate poaching threat for men and women. Evolutionary Psychology, 12(4), 736-756. Read paper

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