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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

How beauty is contributing to the worldwide population explosion, why men turn into idiots when a woman steps into the room, and why Meg Ryan was right: how frequently do women fake orgasm and why do they do it?

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From Miriam Law-Smith's study, composite faces of 18 women with lowest ‘ideal number of children’ (left) and 18 women with highest ‘ideal number of children’ (right).

The articles covered in the show:

Law Smith, M. J., Deady, D. K., Moore, F. R., Jones, B. C., Cornwell, R. E., Stirrat, M., et al. (in press). Maternal tendencies in women are associated with oestrogen levels and facial femininity. Hormones and Behavior. Read summary

Nauts, S., Metzmacher, M., Verwijmeren, T., Rommeswinkel, V., & Karremans, J. C. (in press). The mere anticipation of an interaction with a woman can impair men’s cognitive performance. Archives of Sexual Behavior. Read summary

Kaighobadi, F., Shackelford, T. K., & Weekes-Shackelford, V. A. (in press). Do women pretend orgasm to retain a mate? Archives of Sexual Behavior. Read summary

What’s the best way to investigate jealousy? In the lab, or on TV? Also, gossip: what is it good for, and how is idle chit chat linked to beauty? And why sharing Sunday lunch with mum and dad can make you broody.

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Using footage from a TV show about cheaters caught out on camera, Barry Kuhle investigated sex differences in the causes of jealousy.

The articles covered in the show:

Kuhle, B. X. (2011). Did you have sex with him? Do you love her? An in vivo test of sex differences in jealous interrogations. Personality and Individual Differences, 51(8), 1044-1047. Read summary

Massar, K., Buunk, A. P., & Rempt, S. (in press). Age differences in women’s tendency to gossip are mediated by their mate value. Personality and Individual Differences. Read summary

Waynforth, D. (in press). Grandparental investment and reproductive decisions in the longitudinal 1970 British cohort study. Proceedings of the Royal Society B-Biological Sciences. Read summary