Department of Psychology & Leibniz Science Campus Primate Cognition, University of Goettingen, Gosslerstrasse 14, 37073 Goettingen, Germany.
Department of Psychology & Leibniz Science Campus Primate Cognition, University of Goettingen, Gosslerstrasse 14, 37073 Goettingen, Germany.
Horm Behav. 2021 Feb;128:104916. doi: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2020.104916. Epub 2021 Jan 6.
Are ovulatory cycle shifts in women's mate attraction and preferences robust? What are underlying mechanisms of potential cycle shifts? These questions are the subject of a current scientific debate surrounding the good genes ovulatory shift hypothesis. Here, we report a large, preregistered, within-subjects study, including salivary hormone measures and conception risk estimates based on luteinizing hormone tests. In four sessions across one ovulatory cycle, N = 257 women (= 1028 sessions) rated the attractiveness of 40 natural male bodies, 40 natural female bodies and 40 objects. Multilevel analyses yielded weak evidence for ovulatory increases in women's general attraction, specifically to male bodies, though they are not systematically related to changes in steroid hormone levels. Further, we found no compelling robust evidence for mate preference shifts across the cycle, as only one out of many different tests showed some weak evidence for such effects. Mechanisms regulating cycle shifts, the impact of our results on developing and revising cycle shift theories, and influences of different methodologies on results are discussed.
女性的求偶吸引力和偏好是否会随着排卵周期而改变？潜在的周期变化的机制是什么？这些问题是当前围绕着“优质基因排卵周期假说”的科学争论的主题。在这里，我们报告了一项大型的、预先注册的、被试内研究，包括唾液激素测量和基于黄体生成素测试的受孕风险估计。在一个排卵周期的四个阶段中，N=257 名女性（=1028 个阶段）对 40 个自然男性身体、40 个自然女性身体和 40 个物体的吸引力进行了评分。多层次分析得出的证据表明，女性的一般吸引力，特别是对男性身体的吸引力，在排卵时会有所增强，但与类固醇激素水平的变化没有系统的关系。此外，我们没有发现有力的证据表明整个周期中存在伴侣偏好的变化，因为在许多不同的测试中，只有一个测试显示出了这种效应的一些微弱证据。我们讨论了调节周期变化的机制、我们的结果对发展和修正周期变化理论的影响，以及不同方法学对结果的影响。
