Kelly Gildersleeve: UCLA Department of Psychology, Center for Behavior, Evolution and Culture

For nearly all mammals, the high-fertility period of the ovulatory cycle is the only time when sex can lead to conception. In nonhuman species, this period is often marked by dramatic changes in females’ social interactions. I’ll present two meta-analyses and several lab experiments examining similar effects in humans. Results revealed robust support for differences between high and low fertility in women’s sexual attraction to certain characteristics in men, in some aspects of women’s social behavior (e.g., their flirtatiousness), and in their attractiveness. These findings suggest that women’s mating motivations and the responses they elicit from others are sensitive to their current fertility within the cycle, with potentially important implications for their romantic relationships and social behavior more broadly.