This month we sniff out the link between sex and a sense of smell, and we'll ask: how much should a engagement ring really cost?

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How Much to Spend on an Engagement Ring?
Sex Smells

If you need to get this close to sniff out a partner, you should get your nose tested. Freestocks

The articles covered in the show:

Bendas, J., Hummel, T., & Croy, I. (in press). Olfactory function relates to sexual experience in adults. Archives of Sexual Behavior. Read summary

Cloud, J. M., & Taylor, M. H. (in press). The effect of mate value discrepancy on hypothetical engagement ring purchases. Evolutionary Psychological Science. Read summary

Sexual aggression is a serious subject, and one we should strive to better understand. In this episode, we find out why some men retaliate aggressively when they are rejected. We also learn about the links between sexual coercion, money, and risk-tasking; and how college students rebuff unwanted sexual advances.

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Why Do Some Men Respond Aggressively When Rejected?
Saying No to Sex
Impulsivity and Sexual Coercion

New research reveals a link between impulsive finanicial decision-making and sexual coercion in college-aged men. kris krüg/Flickr

The articles covered in the show:

Carrier Emond, F., Gagnon, J., Nolet, K., Cyr, G., & Rouleau, J.-L. (in press). What money can't buy: different patterns in decision making about sex and money predict past sexual coercion perpetration. Archives of Sexual Behavior. Read summary

Marcantonio, T. L., Jozkowski, K. N., & Lo, W.-J. (in press). Beyond “just saying no”: a preliminary evaluation of strategies college students use to refuse sexual activity. Archives of Sexual Behavior. Read summary

Stratmoen, E., Greer, M. M., Martens, A. L., & Saucier, D. A. (2018). What, I′m not good enough for you? Individual differences in masculine honor beliefs and the endorsement of aggressive responses to romantic rejection. Personality and Individual Differences, 123, 151-162. Read summary

What women want: we investigate whether women's preference for taller men leads to a lifetime of happiness, and find out if it's more important for a man to be generous than handsome.

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Altruistic Vs Handsome: Which Makes a Man More Attractive?
Does a Taller Husband Make for a Happier Wife?

"Oh, FJ-2547, you really shouldn't have!" Is it more important for a man to be generous than handsome? Kristina Alexanderson / Flickr

The articles covered in the show:

Farrelly, D., Clemson, P., & Guthrie, M. (2016). Are women’s mate preferences for altruism also influenced by physical attractiveness? Evolutionary Psychology, 14(1). Read summary

Sohn, K. (2016). Does a taller husband make his wife happier? Personality and Individual Differences, 91, 14-21. Read summary

Decisions, decisions. We find out how our rational minds go all screwy when we're faced with attractive rivals or sexual competitors. Three new experiments show how sexual rivalry primes men to be cruel, self-centred, and prone to risk.

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The psychology of fail videos (women only)
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Handsome Men Make Other Men Want to Gamble
Competition Piques Men’s Interest in Sex
How Does Competition Affect Men’s Morality?

Arm wrestling is a bit daft, but it doesn't do any harm, right? Perhaps not. New research shows that competition can influence men's psychology in unexpected ways.

The articles covered in the show:

Chan, E. Y. (in press). Physically-attractive males increase men's financial risk-taking. Evolution and Human Behavior. Read summary

Gorelik, G., & Bjorklund, D. F. (in press). The effect of competition on men’s self-reported sexual interest. Evolutionary Psychological Science. Read summary

Trémolière, B., Kaminski, G., & Bonnefon, J.-F. (2015). Intrasexual competition shapes men's anti-utilitarian moral decisions. Evolutionary Psychological Science, 1(1), 18-22. Read summary

This month, crime pays: we discover the link between criminal behaviour and reproduction, and find out why it makes sense to judge your criminal accomplices on their beauty. We also learn what a woman’s bank balance says about her attitude to promiscuity.

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New research shows that criminal offending might be part of an alternative reproductive strategy. That explains why the Godfather was the head of such a huge family, then.

The articles covered in the show:

Yao, S., Långström, N., Temrin, H., & Walum, H. (in press). Criminal offending as part of an alternative reproductive strategy: Investigating evolutionary hypotheses using Swedish total population data. Evolution and Human Behavior. Read summary

Shinada, M., & Yamagishi, T. (in press). Physical attractiveness and cooperation in a prisoner's dilemma game. Evolution and Human Behavior. Read summary

Price, M. E., Pound, N., & Scott, I. M. (in press). Female economic dependence and the morality of promiscuity. Archives of Sexual Behavior. Read summary

How to get a man’s sperm swimming like a shoal of miniature Michael Phelpses, and why expensive handbags are a weapon of war. We also find out what time of the month the idea of incest is most likely to make you throw up.

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New research shows that it's not just men who get excited by attractive women: their sperm do too.

The articles covered in the show:

Antfolk, J., Lieberman, D., Albrecht, A., & Santtila, P. (2014). The self-regulation effect of fertility status on inbreeding aversion: When fertile, disgust increases more in response to descriptions of one’s own than of other’s inbreeding. Evolutionary Psychology, 12(3), 621-631. Read paper

Hudders, L., De Backer, C., Fisher, M., & Vyncke, P. (2014). The rival wears Prada: Luxury consumption as a female competition strategy. Evolutionary Psychology. Read paper

Leivers, S., Rhodes, G., & Simmons, L. W. (in press). Context-dependent relationship between a composite measure of men’s mate value and ejaculate quality. Behavioral Ecology. Read summary

And here's that TED talk I mentioned in the podcast. Kristina Durante talks about how women's interest in mating, consumerism, and female-female competition vary over their ovulatory cycle.

Is our attractiveness influenced by the rugs on our floors or the art on our walls? Are we more jealous when we're surrounded by people of the same or opposite sex? And we discover why younger fathers have better looking kids.

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Are people more attractive if they are photographed in a luxury apartment, rather than a standard $40 a week rat-hole with no functioning internet? New research by Michael Dunn of Cardiff Metropolitan University suggests the answer is yes: but only if you're a man.

The articles covered in the show:

Arnocky, S., Ribout, A., Mirza, R. S., & Knack, J. M. (2014). Perceived mate availability influences intrasexual competition, jealousy and mate-guarding behavior. Journal of Evolutionary Psychology, 12(1), 45-64. Read summary

Dunn, M. J., & Hill, A. (2014). Manipulated luxury-apartment ownership enhances opposite-sex attraction in females but not males. Journal of Evolutionary Psychology, 12(1), 1-17. Read summary

Huber, S., & Fielder, M. (in press). Advanced paternal age is associated with lower facial attractiveness. Evolution and Human Behavior. Read summary

Fight fight fight! It’s a female competition special! We all know men duke it out in the name of love, honour and occasionally plain boredom, but do women also seek to outcompete members of their own sex? And is this question so controversial we shouldn’t even be asking it?

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Women knocking seven bells out of each other. Boxing AIBA/Flickr

The articles covered in the show:

Durante, K. M., Griskevicius, V., Cantú, S. M., & Simpson, J. A. (in press). Money, status, and the ovulatory cycle. Journal of Marketing Research. Read summary

Fink, B. (2014). Female physical characteristics and intra-sexual competition in women. Personality and Individual Differences, 58, 138-141. Read summary

Muñoz-Reyes, J. A., Pita, M., Arjona, M., Sanchez-Pages, S., & Turiegano, E. (in press). Who is the fairest of them all? The independent effect of attractive features and self-perceived attractiveness on cooperation among women. Evolution and Human Behavior. Read summary

Piccoli, V., Foroni, F., & Carnaghi, A. (2013). Comparing group dehumanization and intra-sexual competition among normally ovulating women and hormonal contraceptive users. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 39(12), 1600-1609. Read summary

Vaillancourt, T. (2013). Do human females use indirect aggression as an intrasexual competition strategy? Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, B, 368, 20130080. Read summary

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

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

The recipe for the perfect man. Tall, dark and handsome? How about tall, rich and with huge feet?

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You know what they say about men with big feet, right?

The articles covered in the show:

Stulp, G., Pollet, T. V., Verhulst, S., & Buunk, A. P. (in press). A curvilinear effect of height on reproductive success in human males. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology. Read summary

Jonason, P. K., Li, N. P., & Madson, L. (in press). It is not all about the Benjamins: Understanding preferences for mates with resources. Personality and Individual Differences. Read summary

Fessler, D. M. T., Stieger, S., Asaridou, S. S., Bahia, U., Cravalho, C., de Barros, P., et al. (in press). Testing a postulated case of intersexual selection in humans: The role of foot size in judgments of physical attractiveness and age. Evolution and Human Behavior. Read summary

Being mean to keep ‘em keen: how sharing negative attitudes can bring you and your partner closer. We also find out whether beautiful people are friendlier, or meaner, than the rest of us, and why George Clooney is a total miser (possibly).

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There may be something to the popular belief that attractive people are mean, as new research by Price and colleagues shows.

The articles covered in the show:

Weaver, J. R., & Bosson, J. K. (in press). I feel like I know you: Shared negative attitudes of others promotes feelings of familiarity. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin. Read summary

Price, M. E., Kang, J., Dunn, J., & Hopkins, S. (2011). Muscularity and attractiveness as predictors of human egalitarianism. Personality and Individual Differences, 50(5), 636-640. Read summary

Stirrat, M., Gumert, M., & Perrett, D. I. (2011). The effect of attractiveness on food sharing preferences in human mating markets. Evolutionary Psychology, 9(1), 79-91. Read paper

Why the face is sometimes more important than the body, and why the body is sometimes more important than the face. Also, how being the object of another's affection boosts your own feelings of desire, and how your IQ influences the kind of partners you prefer.

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New research out this month shows that we find people attractive if they find US attractive.

The articles covered in the show:

Stanik, C. E., & Ellsworth, P. C. (2010). Who cares about marrying a rich man? Intelligence and variation in women’s mate preferences. Human Nature, 21(2), 203-217. Read summary

Greitemeyer, T. (2010). Effects of reciprocity on attraction: The role of a partner's physical attractiveness. Personal Relationships, 17(2), 317-330. Read summary