Skip to main content
bioRxiv
  • Home
  • About
  • Submit
  • ALERTS / RSS
Advanced Search
Contradictory Results

Women’s preferences for facial masculinity are not related to their hormonal status

View ORCID ProfileBenedict C Jones, View ORCID ProfileAmanda C Hahn, Claire I Fisher, Hongyi Wang, View ORCID ProfileMichal Kandrik, Chengyang Han, Vanessa Fasolt, Danielle Morrison, View ORCID ProfileAnthony Lee, View ORCID ProfileIris Holzleitner, View ORCID ProfileCraig Roberts, View ORCID ProfileAnthony Little, View ORCID ProfileLisa DeBruine
doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/136549
Benedict C Jones
1Institute of Neuroscience & Psychology, University of Glasgow, UK
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • ORCID record for Benedict C Jones
Amanda C Hahn
2Department of Psychology, Humboldt State University, USA
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • ORCID record for Amanda C Hahn
Claire I Fisher
1Institute of Neuroscience & Psychology, University of Glasgow, UK
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Hongyi Wang
1Institute of Neuroscience & Psychology, University of Glasgow, UK
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Michal Kandrik
1Institute of Neuroscience & Psychology, University of Glasgow, UK
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • ORCID record for Michal Kandrik
Chengyang Han
1Institute of Neuroscience & Psychology, University of Glasgow, UK
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Vanessa Fasolt
1Institute of Neuroscience & Psychology, University of Glasgow, UK
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Danielle Morrison
1Institute of Neuroscience & Psychology, University of Glasgow, UK
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Anthony Lee
1Institute of Neuroscience & Psychology, University of Glasgow, UK
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • ORCID record for Anthony Lee
Iris Holzleitner
1Institute of Neuroscience & Psychology, University of Glasgow, UK
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • ORCID record for Iris Holzleitner
Craig Roberts
3Department of Psychology, University of Stirling, UK
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • ORCID record for Craig Roberts
Anthony Little
4Department of Psychology, University of Bath, UK
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • ORCID record for Anthony Little
Lisa DeBruine
1Institute of Neuroscience & Psychology, University of Glasgow, UK
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • ORCID record for Lisa DeBruine
  • Abstract
  • Full Text
  • Info/History
  • Metrics
  • Preview PDF
Loading

Abstract

Although widely cited as strong evidence that sexual selection has shaped human facial attractiveness judgments, evidence that preferences for masculine characteristics in men's faces are related to women's hormonal status is equivocal and controversial. Consequently, we conducted the largest ever longitudinal study of women's preferences for facial masculinity (N=584). Analyses showed no evidence that preferences for facial masculinity were related to changes in women's salivary steroid hormone levels. Furthermore, both within-subject and between-subject comparisons showed no evidence that oral contraceptive use decreased masculinity preferences. However, women generally preferred masculinized over feminized versions of men's faces, particularly when assessing men's attractiveness for short-term, rather than long-term, relationships. Our results do not support the hypothesized link between women's preferences for facial masculinity and their hormonal status.

Copyright 
The copyright holder for this preprint is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. It is made available under a CC-BY-NC 4.0 International license.
Back to top
PreviousNext
Posted May 11, 2017.
Download PDF
Email

Thank you for your interest in spreading the word about bioRxiv.

NOTE: Your email address is requested solely to identify you as the sender of this article.

Enter multiple addresses on separate lines or separate them with commas.
Women’s preferences for facial masculinity are not related to their hormonal status
(Your Name) has forwarded a page to you from bioRxiv
(Your Name) thought you would like to see this page from the bioRxiv website.
CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.
Share
Women’s preferences for facial masculinity are not related to their hormonal status
Benedict C Jones, Amanda C Hahn, Claire I Fisher, Hongyi Wang, Michal Kandrik, Chengyang Han, Vanessa Fasolt, Danielle Morrison, Anthony Lee, Iris Holzleitner, Craig Roberts, Anthony Little, Lisa DeBruine
bioRxiv 136549; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/136549
Digg logo Reddit logo Twitter logo CiteULike logo Facebook logo Google logo Mendeley logo
Citation Tools
Women’s preferences for facial masculinity are not related to their hormonal status
Benedict C Jones, Amanda C Hahn, Claire I Fisher, Hongyi Wang, Michal Kandrik, Chengyang Han, Vanessa Fasolt, Danielle Morrison, Anthony Lee, Iris Holzleitner, Craig Roberts, Anthony Little, Lisa DeBruine
bioRxiv 136549; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/136549

Citation Manager Formats

  • BibTeX
  • Bookends
  • EasyBib
  • EndNote (tagged)
  • EndNote 8 (xml)
  • Medlars
  • Mendeley
  • Papers
  • RefWorks Tagged
  • Ref Manager
  • RIS
  • Zotero
  • Tweet Widget
  • Facebook Like
  • Google Plus One

Subject Area

  • Animal Behavior and Cognition
Subject Areas
All Articles
  • Animal Behavior and Cognition (2427)
  • Biochemistry (4784)
  • Bioengineering (3328)
  • Bioinformatics (14656)
  • Biophysics (6629)
  • Cancer Biology (5162)
  • Cell Biology (7417)
  • Clinical Trials (138)
  • Developmental Biology (4355)
  • Ecology (6869)
  • Epidemiology (2057)
  • Evolutionary Biology (9903)
  • Genetics (7338)
  • Genomics (9509)
  • Immunology (4545)
  • Microbiology (12657)
  • Molecular Biology (4936)
  • Neuroscience (28280)
  • Paleontology (199)
  • Pathology (804)
  • Pharmacology and Toxicology (1388)
  • Physiology (2019)
  • Plant Biology (4487)
  • Scientific Communication and Education (976)
  • Synthetic Biology (1297)
  • Systems Biology (3909)
  • Zoology (725)