| Abstract | Researchers find that, near ovulation, women exhibit a heightened preference for men who have indicators of good genes – such as facial symmetry, facial masculinity, body masculinity, and vocal masculinity –particularly in the context of their short-term partners. Here, I sought to conceptually replicate these patterns and examine whether they are driven by changes in women’s perceptual acuity near ovulation. Ninety-seven naturally cycling women and 145 women taking hormonal contraceptives were tested on their preferences for and their perceptual acuity to mating related stimuli that indicate high quality genes at both high fertility and low fertility across the ovulatory cycle. Tasks assessed preferences for and acuity to subtle differences in faces, gaits, voices, and music. Results reveal that while women’s preferences for and acuity to subtle differences in mating related stimuli are impacted by hormonal contraceptive use and short-term mating motivations, that patterns of results differed across different types of tasks. |
