No strong evidence for any steroid hormonal effects on mate atraction; further, found no compelling robust evidence for mate preference shifts across the ovulatory cycle

A longitudinal evaluation of ovulatory cycle shifts in women’s mate attraction and preferences. Julia Stern, Tobias L. Kordsmeyer, & Lars Penke. Univ. Goettingen, Dec 2020, accepted for publication at Hormones and Behavior. https://www.psych.uni-goettingen.de/de/biopers/publications_department/pdfs/manuscript_Cycle2_mate_preferences_bodies.docx.pdf

Rolf Degen's take: https://twitter.com/DegenRolf/status/1342731513717260288

Abstract: Are ovulatory cycle shifts in women’s mate attraction and preferences robust? What are underlying mechanisms of potential cycle shifts? These questions are the subject of a current scientific debate surrounding the good genes ovulatory shift hypothesis. Here, we report a large, preregistered, within-subjects study, including salivary hormone measures and conception risk estimates based on luteinizing hormone tests. In four sessions across one ovulatory cycle, N = 257 women (= 1028 sessions) rated the attractiveness of 40 natural male bodies, 40 natural female bodies and 40 objects. Multilevel analyses yielded weak evidence for ovulatory increases in women’s general attraction, specifically to male bodies, though they are not systematically related to changes in steroid hormone levels. Further, we found no compelling robust evidence for mate preference shifts across the cycle, as only one out of many different tests showed some weak evidence for such effects. Mechanisms regulating cycle shifts, the impact of our results on developing and revising cycle shift theories, and influences of different methodologies on results are discussed.

Keywords: ovulatory cycle, mate preferences, mate attraction, steroid hormones, fertility