Study, 2013
Does the menstrual cycle affect which men women prefer as romantic partners?
Yes. Women in their fertile window preferred men with aggressive traits as short-term partners, though this preference did not extend to long-term relationships.
What they did
1212 women read descriptions of soldiers returning from war. There were four scenarios: trauma with high aggression, trauma with low aggression, no trauma with high aggression, and no trauma with low aggression. Women rated their desire for short-term and long-term relationships with each described soldier.
What they found
Women preferred the highly aggressive soldiers as short-term mates but not for long-term relationships. This preference for aggressive traits was higher during the fertile window of the menstrual cycle compared to other phases.
What it means for you
Aggressive traits may signal genetic advantages valued for short-term reproduction during peak fertility, but women recognize these traits are not desirable for long-term partnership. The main limitation is that women responded to written descriptions rather than meeting real people, and how menstrual cycle phase was determined is not explained.
1212
women studied
4
soldier descriptions rated
About the study
- Original title
- Female attraction to appetitive-aggressive men is modulated by women's menstrual cycle and men's vulnerability to traumatic stress
- Authors
- Giebel G, Weierstall R, Schauer M et al.
- Journal
- Evolutionary psychology : an international journal of evolutionary approaches to psychology and behavior
- Year
- 2013
- Study design
- Study
- Participants
- 1,212
- What was tested
- Reading soldier descriptions and rating partner preference
- Open access
- Yes
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.1177/147470491301100122
Topics
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