Study, 1983
Does the menstrual cycle affect the ability to find hidden shapes in pictures?
Maybe, but it depends. Psychology students made more errors during the middle of their cycle, but nursing students didn't show this pattern.
What they did
44 psychology undergraduates and 49 nursing students took a test of visual perception (finding shapes hidden in complex pictures) and reported their menstrual cycle stage.
What they found
Psychology students tested during days 11-17 of their menstrual cycle made more errors than those tested earlier or later in the cycle. This pattern did not appear in nursing students, whether on oral contraceptives or not. Psychology students' beliefs about menstrual cycle effects may have affected their performance.
What it means for you
The menstrual cycle may affect visual perception in some women but not others. Beliefs about how the cycle affects performance matter. The different results between the two groups make it hard to know if cycle phase truly affects perception.
44
psychology students
49
nursing students
days 11-17
when psychology students made more errors
About the study
- Original title
- Menstrual cycle influences on perceptual disembedding ability
- Authors
- Hughes RN
- Journal
- Perceptual and motor skills
- Year
- 1983
- Study design
- Study
- Participants
- 49
- What was tested
- None
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.2466/pms.1983.57.1.107
Topics
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