The Psychology of Attractiveness Podcast

This month we investigate unusual aspects of mating behaviour. How many young adults have experience of threesomes (sex with two partners at the same time)? And why does anyone read -- and write -- sexually explicit fan fiction? I also interview Naomi Muggleton, a PhD student from the University of Warwick, about her research on women's long- and short-term mate preferences and how they vary across cultures. (I've also covered Naomi's previous work on body odour: click here for that episode)Download the MP3 Support me! Support the podcast on Patreon for as little as $1 and get access to the patron-only feed, including bonus podcasts and blogs not available elsewhere.Rate me! Rate, review, or listen in iTunes or in Stitcher. Read the transcript! Harry/Hermione: Who Writes (and Reads) Sexually Explicit Fanfic? Who Wants a Threesome? No, Really. "Wow, that was a bad idea..." Portland Center Stage/FlickrThe articles covered in the show: Anisimowicz, Y., & O’Sullivan, L. F. (2017). Men’s and women’s use and creation of online sexually explicit materials including fandom-related works. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 46(3), 823-833. Read summaryMuggleton, N. (2017). Ecological predictors of female sexual suppression. Poster presented at the conference of the European Human Behaviour and Evolution Association, Paris. Thompson, A. E., & Byers, E. S. (2017). Heterosexual young adults’ interest, attitudes, and experiences related to mixed-gender, multi-person sex. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 46(3), 813-822. Read summary

For the first time, I hand over editorial control to you, the listeners of The Psychology of Attractiveness Podcast. Supporters of the podcast on Patreon have chosen what we'll discuss in today's show. Thanks to them, we'll find out why people choose to stay single, and how sex makes men immoral.Download the MP3 Support me! Support the podcast on Patreon for as little as $1 and get access to the patron-only feed, including bonus podcasts and blogs not available elsewhere.Rate me! Rate, review, or listen in iTunes or in Stitcher. Read the transcript! Why Does Anyone Stay Single? Femme Fatale: Sexy Women Make Men do Bad Things It wasn’t until dusk that Emma accepted her wedding day hadn’t gone exactly to plan. Bobby Bradley/FlickrThe articles covered in the show: Apostolou, M. (2017). Why people stay single: An evolutionary perspective. Personality and Individual Differences, 111, 263-271. Read summaryChiou, W.-B., Wu, W.-H., & Cheng, W. (in press). Sexy women can tempt men down the road of immorality: Exposure to sexy stimuli leads to increased dishonesty in men. Evolution and Human Behavior. Read summary

How do mobile phones improve and damage our relationships? We look at a study of sexting among high school students, and find out about 'phubbing': a modern relationship behaviour you have almost certainly experienced.Download the MP3 Support me! Support the podcast on Patreon for as little as $1 and get access to the patron-only feed, including bonus podcasts and blogs not available elsewhere.Rate me! Rate, review, or listen in iTunes or in Stitcher. Read the transcript! How Popular is Sexting? Phubbing and Relationship Satisfaction How do mobile phones improve (and damage) relationships? L'oeil étranger/FlickrThe articles covered in the show: Strassberg, D. S., Cann, D., & Velarde, V. (in press). Sexting by high school students. Archives of Sexual Behavior. Read summary Wang, X., Xie, X., Wang, Y., Wang, P., & Lei, L. (2017). Partner phubbing and depression among married Chinese adults: The roles of relationship satisfaction and relationship length. Personality and Individual Differences, 110, 12-17. Read summary

Some of you may know that last summer I started a new job at Basel University in Switzerland. During the autumn semester, I taught a class on personality and intimate relationships. One thing I had the class do is read research papers and prepare short written assignments on them, in a style similar to my podcast. Several of the students also recorded their assignments, so here is a special bonus episode featuring their work. Almost none of the students are native English speakers, and until now most had summarised research only in formal scientific language, so the project was a real challenge. I am very proud of the effort they put in and hope you enjoy this bonus podcast.Download the MP3 Rate me! Rate, review, or listen in iTunes or in Stitcher. Basel! Thomas Mulchi/FlickrThe articles covered in the show: Michelle: Pawłowski, B., & Jasienska, G. (2008). Women's body morphology and preferences for sexual partners' characteristics. Evolution and Human Behavior, 29(1), 19-25. Read summary Ting: Lill, M. M., & Wilkinson, T. J. (2005). Judging a book by its cover: descriptive survey of patients' preferences for doctors' appearance and mode of address. BMJ, 331(7531), 1524-1527. Read summary Hanna: Maybach, K. L., & Gold, S. R. (1994). Hyperfemininity and attraction to macho and non‐macho men. The Journal of Sex Research, 31(2), 91-98. Read summary Sou Bouy: Nordsletten, A. E., Larsson, H., & Crowley, J. J. (2016). Patterns of nonrandom mating within and across 11 major psychiatric disorders. JAMA Psychiatry, 73(4), 354-361. Read summary Dania: Schützwohl, A., & Koch, S. (2004). Sex differences in jealousy: The recall of cues to sexual and emotional infidelity in personally more and less threatening context conditions. Evolution and Human Behavior, 25(4), 249-257. Read summary Alina and Dominik: Mark, K. P., Janssen, E., & Milhausen, R. R. (2011). Infidelity in heterosexual couples: Demographic, interpersonal, and personality-related predictors of extradyadic sex. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 40, 971-982. Read summary Daphne: Campbell, L., & Kohut, T. (2017). The use and effects of pornography in romantic relationships. Current Opinion in Psychology, 13, 6-10. Read summary Leonie: Cravens, J. D., & Whiting, J. B. (2014). Clinical implications of internet infidelity: Where Facebook fits in. The American Journal of Family Therapy, 42(4), 325-339. Read summary Emily: McDaniel, B. T., Drouin, M., & Cravens, J. D. (2017). Do you have anything to hide? Infidelity-related behaviors on social media sites and marital satisfaction. Computers in Human Behavior, 66, 88-95. Read summary Galya: Meltzer, A. L., & McNulty, J. K. (2016). Who is having more and better sex? The Big Five as predictors of sex in marriage. Journal of Research in Personality, 63, 62-66. Read summary Christine: Ahmetoglu, G., Swami, V., & Chamorro-Premuzic, T. (2010). The relationship between dimensions of love, personality, and relationship length. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 39(5), 1181-1190. Read summary Philipp: Barnes, S., Brown, K. W., Krusemark, E., Campbell, W. K., & Rogge, R. D. (2007). The role of mindfulness in romantic relationship satisfaction and responses to relationship stress. Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 33(4), 482–500. Read summary Oriana: Jackson, J. J., Connolly, J. J., Garrison, S. M., Leveille, M. M., & Connolly, S. L. (2015). Your friends know how long you will live. Psychological Science, 26(3), 335-340. Read summary Susanne: Mogilski, J. K., & Welling, L. L. M. (in press). Staying friends with an ex: Sex and dark personality traits predict motivations for post-relationship friendship. Personality and Individual Differences. Read summary Cécile: Wilson, R. E., Harris, K., & Vazire, S. (2015). Personality and friendship satisfaction i…

It's a bad boy special. We discover if a spell at an army training camp can change the type of woman a man finds most attractive. We also find out what tattoos say about a man's health, masculinity, and perceived parenting ability.Download the MP3 Support me! Support the podcast on Patreon for as little as $1 and get access to the patron-only feed, including bonus podcasts and blogs not available elsewhere.Rate me! Rate, review, or listen in iTunes or in Stitcher. Read the transcript! Do Tattoos Make a Man Appear Healthier and More Attractive? Army Training Skews Face Preferences Can army training affect what kind of women men are attracted to? And do tattoos make a man seem healthier and hotter? Defence Images/FlickrThe articles covered in the show: Batres, C., & Perrett, D. I. (2016). How the harsh environment of an army training camp changes human (Homo sapiens) facial preferences. Ethology. Read summary Galbarczyk, A., & Ziomkiewicz, A. (2017). Tattooed men: Healthy bad boys and good-looking competitors. Personality and Individual Differences, 106. Read summary

In this episode we poke our noses into two new research papers on body odour and attractiveness. Can women tell if another woman is fertile simply by sniffing her armpits? And can we sweeten our natural aroma by eating fragrant food?Download the MP3 Support me! Support the podcast on Patreon for as little as $1 and get access to the patron-only feed, including bonus podcasts and blogs not available elsewhere.Rate me! Rate, review, or listen in iTunes or in Stitcher. Read the transcript! Something (or Someone) Smells Fishy: Diet and Body OdorDoes a diet rich in fruit and vegetables make a man's sweat smell like a bouquet of flowers? Derek Hatfield/FlickrThe articles covered in the show: Gildersleeve, K., Fales, M. R., & Haselton, M. G. (in press). Women's evaluations of other women's natural body odor depend on targets' fertility status. Evolution and Human Behavior. View summaryZuniga, A., Stevenson, R. J., Mahmut, M. K., & Stephen, I. D. (in press). Diet quality and the attractiveness of male body odor. Evolution and Human Behavior. View summary

Download the MP3 Sex and drugs: Does taking illicit substances affect your mating success? We also find out how a dose of testosterone influences what men find attractive.Rate me! Rate, review, or listen in iTunes or in Stitcher. Support me! Support the podcast on Patreon for as little as $1 and get access to the patron-only feed, including bonus podcasts and blogs not available elsewhere.Read the transcript! Sex & Drugs: Can Substance Use Enhance Your Love Life? How Testosterone Affects What Men Find Attractive Does taking drugs make you a goddamn sexual tyrannosaurus? Niyantha Shekar/FlickrThe articles covered in the show: Richardson, G. B., Chen, C.-C., Dai, C.-L., Swoboda, C. M., Nedelec, J. L., & Chen, W.-W. (in press). Substance use and mating success. Evolution and Human Behavior. View summaryBird, B. M., Welling, L. L. M., Ortiz, T. L., Moreau, B. J. P., Hansen, S., Emond, M., . . . Carré, J. M. (in press). Effects of exogenous testosterone and mating context on men's preferences for female facial femininity. Hormones and Behavior. View summary

In a belated attempt to understand the results of the recent US elections, we harness the power of attractiveness psychology (because polling doesn't seem to work). Do we vote for candidates based on their voices? Is our party political preference linked to our sexual behaviour? We find out in this month's show.Download the MP3 Rate me! Rate, review, or listen in iTunes or in Stitcher. Read the transcript! Conservatives and Liberals: From the Polling Place to the Bedroom Deeper Voiced Politicians Win More Elections Is our preferred political party linked to our sexual behaviour? Theresa Thompson/FlickrThe articles covered in the show: Hatemi, P. K., Crabtree, C., & McDermott, R. (2017). The relationship between sexual preferences and political orientations: Do positions in the bedroom affect positions in the ballot box? Personality and Individual Differences, 105, 318-325. doi:10.1016/j.paid.2016.10.008Pavela Banai, I., Banai, B., & Bovan, K. (in press). Vocal characteristics of presidential candidates can predict the outcome of actual elections Evolution and Human Behavior. doi:10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2016.10.012

Download the MP3 Does viewing pornography damage your relationship? In this episode we look at two recent research studies that seek to answer this question using very different methods. Also, does Trump’s red “power tie” really make him appear more dominant?Rate me! Rate, review, or listen in iTunes or in Stitcher. Read the transcript! Porn: Does it Damage your Relationship? Trump’s Powerless Red “Power Tie” Does viewing pornography have adverse effects on your relationship? Caden Crawford/FlickrThe articles covered in the show: Kohut, T., Fisher, W. A., & Campbell, L. (in press). Perceived effects of pornography on the couple relationship: Initial findings of open-ended, participant-informed, “bottom-up” research. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 1-18. View summaryKramer, R. S. S. (2016). The red power(less) tie: Perceptions of political leaders wearing red. Evolutionary Psychology, 14(2). View summaryPerry, S. L. (in press). Does viewing pornography reduce marital quality over time? Evidence from longitudinal data. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 1-11. View summary

Download the MP3 Men are more attractive if they are intelligent, but what do smarts do for feminine appeal? We also find out whether physically attractive women are more interested in short-term flings or serious long-term relationships.Rate me! Rate, review, or listen in iTunes or in Stitcher. Read the transcript! Are Men Attracted to Clever Women? Are Attractive Women More Interested in Flings? Are smarter women more attractive? Nottingham Trent University/FlickrThe articles covered in the show: Karbowski, A., Deja, D., & Zawisza, M. (2016). Perceived female intelligence as economic bad in partner choice. Personality and Individual Differences, 102, 217-222. View summaryFisher, C. I., Hahn, A. C., DeBruine, L. M., & Jones, B. C. (2016). Is women's sociosexual orientation related to their physical attractiveness? Personality and Individual Differences, 101, 396-399. View summary

Download the MP3 Do opposites attract? We look at two studies of couples who are different in some way. Are couple who don't match in attractiveness less trusting of another? And do couples who have different body shapes attract prejudice and discrimination?Rate me! Rate, review, or listen in iTunes or in Stitcher. Read the transcript! “Date Someone Your own Size” ♪ When You’re in Love With a Beautiful Woman (or Handsome Man)… ♫ Is your partner bigger or smaller than you, and what does this mean for your relationship? bingham30069/FlickrThe articles covered in the show: Collisson, B., Howell, J. L., Rusbasan, D., & Rosenfeld, E. (in press). “Date someone your own size”: Prejudice and discrimination toward mixed-weight relationships. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships. Read summaryOltmanns, J. R., Markey, P. M., & French, J. E. (in press). Dissimilarity in physical attractiveness within romantic dyads and mate retention behaviors. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships. Read summaryJust after I posted this episode, I read about this new study by Sela and colleagues which was also really interesting: it's like the Oltmanns' mate retention study except with self-ratings of attractiveness.

Download the MP3 Something more than friends. We look at three new studies on attraction to opposite-sex friends. How do men and women differ in their attraction to friends? And can you make a friend fall in love with you by falling in love with them first?Rate me! Rate, review, or listen in iTunes or in Stitcher. Read the transcript! Why are we Attracted to Friends?What a sickeningly cheerful bunch of friends. No doubt they are having lots of sex with each other, and we can only hope that the group will soon implode in a spiral of jealousy.Miguel Angel/FlickrThe articles covered in the show: Bleske-Rechek, A., Joseph, W. E., Williquette, H., & Donovan, B. (in press). Sex differences in young adults' attraction to opposite-sex friends: Natural sampling versus mental concepts. Evolutionary Psychological Science. Read paperLemay Jr., E. P., & Wolf, N. R. (2016). Projection of romantic and sexual desire in opposite-sex friendships: How wishful thinking creates a self-fulfilling prophecy. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 42(7), 864-878. Read summaryMogilski, J. K. & L. L. M. Welling (in press). Staying friends with an ex: Sex and dark personality traits predict motivations for post-relationship friendship. Personality and Individual Differences. Read summary

In this episode, how do our genitals affect the psychology of attraction and sex? We look at new research on female genital mutilation and its effects on women's sexuality, and find out whether a woman is more likely to experience an orgasm if her man has a longer than average penis. Download the MP3 Rate me! Rate, review, or listen in iTunes or in Stitcher. Read the transcript! Do Women Have More Orgasms if their Sex Partner has a Longer than Average Penis? Does FGM Make Women Less Interested in Sex? Watch out, mate. You’ll have someone’s eye out. Enrique Lin/FlickrThe articles covered in the show: Booksmythe, I., Head, M. L., Keogh, J. S., & Jennions, M. D. (in press). Fitness consequences of artificial selection on relative male genital size. Nature Communications, 7, 11597. Read summaryDrasa Jr., K. M., & Vasili, V. (2016). Which female prefer longer penises? International Journal of Science and Research, 5(5), 108-111.Onyishi, I. E., Prokop, P., Okafor, C. O., & Pham, M. N. (2016). Female genital cutting restricts sociosexuality among the Igbo people of Southeast Nigeria. Evolutionary Psychology, 14(2). Read summary

We discover why beauty is in the nose of the beholder in this odor special. We'll find out whether spraying scented deodorant all over your body can make your smell more masculine or feminine, and we'll also learn if a man's whole mating psychology is turned topsy turvy when he catches a whiff of female pheromones.Also, this is episode 100 of the podcast so if you want to send me lots of gifts then go right ahead. Download the MP3 Rate me! Rate, review, or listen in iTunes or in Stitcher. Read the transcript! Perfume and Pheromones: Why Beauty is in the Nose of the BeholderScents -- whether natural or artificial -- can influence what we find attractive and even how we see ourselves. J. Sibiga/FlickrThe articles covered in the show: Allen, C., Cobey, K. D., Havlíček, J., & Roberts, S. C. (in press). The impact of artificial fragrances on the assessment of mate quality cues in body odor. Evolution and Human Behavior. Read summaryWilliams, M. N., & Jacobson, A. (2016). Effect of copulins on rating of female attractiveness, mate-guarding, and self-perceived sexual desirability. Evolutionary Psychology, 14(2). Read summary

Fertility and fairness: We look at how the menstrual cycle influences women's sharing behaviour, and find out why your hormones (and the hormones of other women) have an impact on what you feel is fair. Download the MP3 Rate me! Rate, review, or listen in iTunes or in Stitcher. Read the transcript! Fertility and FairnessNew research suggests that, when women are most fertile, they demand more from their exchanges with other women. Dwayne Bent/FlickrThe articles covered in the show: Eisenbruch, A. B., & Roney, J. R. (2016). Conception risk and the ultimatum game: When fertility is high, women demand more. Personality and Individual Differences, 98, 272-274. Read summaryNecka, E. A., Puts, D. A., Dimitroff, S. J., & Norman, G. J. (in press). Other women’s fertility moderates female resource distribution across the menstrual cycle. Evolution and Human Behavior. Read summary