Survey study, 1996
Does how women react to jealousy change during the menstrual cycle?
Yes. Women showed stronger physical signs of emotional reaction to jealousy during the preovulatory phase, especially when imagining emotional rather than sexual betrayal.
What they did
Researchers tested 16 women at three cycle phases while they listened to jealousy stories. Skin sensors measured physical emotional responses. Women rated how jealous they felt and completed tests of creativity and coping.
What they found
Physical emotional reactions were stronger during the preovulatory phase, particularly when listening to stories about emotional jealousy. Rated jealousy tended to be higher during ovulation, especially after the emotional jealousy story. Around ovulation, women also showed better creative thinking and less aggressive ways of coping with frustration.
What it means for you
Hormones affect emotional responses during the cycle. The main limits are the small sample size and that responses were measured only briefly at each cycle phase.
16
women studied
3
menstrual cycle phases tested
About the study
- Original title
- Jealousy, general creativity, and coping with social frustration during the menstrual cycle
- Authors
- Krug R, Finn M, Pietrowsky R et al.
- Journal
- Archives of sexual behavior
- Year
- 1996
- Study design
- Survey study
- Participants
- 16
- What was tested
- Measurement of emotional reactions to jealousy scenarios at three menstrual cycle phases
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.1007/bf02437935
Topics
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