Circum-menopausal changes in women's face preferences

Vukovic, J., Jones, B.C. , Debruine, L.M. , Little, A.C., Feinberg, D.R. and Welling, L.L.M. (2009) Circum-menopausal changes in women's face preferences. Biology Letters, 5(1), pp. 62-64. (doi: 10.1098/rsbl.2008.0478)

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Abstract

Menopause results in a marked change in a woman's hormonal profile that affects many aspects of behavior. We investigated circum-menopausal women's preferences for femininity in the faces of young adult men and women. Post-menopausal women demonstrated stronger preferences for femininity in same-sex faces than pre-menopausal women did. This effect was independent of possible effects of participant age and suggests that dislike of feminine (i.e., attractive) same-sex competitors decreases as fertility decreases. No significant difference between pre- and post-menopausal women was observed for men's faces, potentially because circum-menopausal women do not necessarily view young adult men as potential mates. To our knowledge, this is the first study to demonstrate circum-menopausal changes in women's face preferences.

Item Type:Articles
Status:Published
Refereed:Yes
Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID:DeBruine, Professor Lisa and Jones, Professor Benedict
Authors: Vukovic, J., Jones, B.C., Debruine, L.M., Little, A.C., Feinberg, D.R., and Welling, L.L.M.
College/School:College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Psychology & Neuroscience
Journal Name:Biology Letters
Publisher:Royal Society
ISSN:1744-9561

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