EXAM 2

Question 1

The Legendary Lap Dance Study

Answer 1

Miller et al (2007)
University of New Mexico (what is up with them?!?)
Followed two sets of strippers
One set who was on the pill
One set who was off the pill
Tracked how much money made every five hour shift
Tracked dollars earned against their menstrual cycles

Question 2

The Legendary Lap Dance Study -2

Answer 2

Findings:
Pill users made $193 per shift
Non-Pill users made $276 per shift

Affected by stage of menstrual cycle:
Menstruation phase: $175 per shift
Estrous (Ovulation) phase: $350 per shift
Luteal phase: $250 per shift

Question 3

The Legendary Lap Dance Study

Answer 3

Findings:
Pill users didn’t dramatically shift over time
No statistically significant change

The Question is WHY?
Thoughts?

Question 4

The Legendary Lap Dance Study

Researchers offer two likely reasons: 1

Answer 4

Reason #1: Hormonal spikes affect women’s behavior
In this context, the women might engage in behaviors that get them more money
However, these were seasoned professionals (average 6 years experience)
When asked, the women felt confident they weren’t acting differently

Question 5

The Legendary Lap Dance Study

Reason 2

Answer 5

Reason #2: Hormonal spikes affect women’s sex appeal
Estrogen levels surge leading up to ovulation
Estrogen changes how you look/smell
Fuller lips
Larger pupils
Smoother, softer, “glowing” skin
Evens out complexion
Flesh of ears, fingers, and breasts become more symmetrical
Copulins and other odorants smell better

Question 6

The Legendary Lap Dance Study

reason 2 continued

Answer 6

Hormonal spikes affect women’s sex appeal (continued)
Men are enticed by this convergence of features
Likely unaware of the extra appeal’s source
Pay to maintain the attention of these “extra attractive” women

Question 7

Hormones Affecting Appearance

Answer 7

Estrogen Face Study
(Smith et al., 2006)
Tracked the influence of hormones on facial appearance
Took photos of fifty-nine women every week for six weeks
Just faces (not hair, body, or clothes)
Also tested the women to pin-point the timing of their ovulations

Question 8

Hormones Affecting Appearance pt2

Answer 8

Next, had male and female volunteers rate these faces for attractiveness
Ovulating women rated as more attractive

Made composites of two faces:
Ten ovulating women
Ten non-ovulating women
Ovulating composite won

Question 9

Hormones Affecting Appearance Bern (2016)

Answer 9

Women read other women’s faces for signs of ovulation (left is ovulating)
Identify ovulating
faces as threatening
(see them as more
likely to steal their mate)
They try to hide their partners from these potential fertile threats

Question 10

Hormones Affecting Behavior

Answer 10

The Come-and-Get-Me!-Outfit Study
Haelston (2007)

Had volunteers look at full-length photos of 30 women taken at different times during their menstrual cycles

Volunteers judged if the women were trying to look more attractive in one photo more than others

The women in the photos had their heads cropped out (so people didn’t inadvertently rate their facial attractiveness)

Question 11

Hormones Affecting Behavior

Answer 11

The Come-and-Get-Me!-Outfit Study (cont)
The women in the photos had no idea what the study was about, so had no reason to affect it’s outcome (i.e., knowingly dress certain ways)

More often than not, raters could guess the women’s fertile phase based on her clothes alone
Women in their fertile phase (estrous) showed more skin and tighter, more provocative outfits
Alternatively, wore same clothes as in low-fertility phase, but added frilly or cosmetic touches (e.g., added jewelry)

Question 12

Hormones Affecting Behavior

Answer 12

The Drugs-Made-Me-Do-It! Study
Bullivant et al (2004)
Matched women’s frequency of erotic fantasies and intensity of sexual desires against their menstrual cycles
Sexual fantasies and desires peaked leading up to ovulation

Question 13

Hormones Affecting Behavior

Answer 13

The Drugs-Made-Me-Do-It! Study (cont)
Coincided with high estrogen levels, coupled with a brief spike in testosterone
Testosterone ramps up sex drive
Couples usually have 24% more sex during this window than they do during the rest of the month
The problems with knowing such things…
Dinner with friends…

Question 14

Hormones Affecting Behavior

Answer 14

Who’s-Your-Type? Studies

Depends (at least a little) on where you’re at in your cycle!

Several studies focus on how menstrual cycle affects aesthetic preferences in mate selection for females

Question 15

Who’s-Your-Type? Studies

Answer 15

Around ovulation, women are at their highest sex-hormone levels

Higher sex drive

Higher sensitivity to/aroused by high-testosterone cues (deep voices, broad shoulders, musculature, dominant behavior)

Question 16

Roney & Simmons (2008)

Answer 16

Had women rate a series of men based on their physical attractiveness

Then measured these men’s testosterone levels

Also measured these women’s estrogen levels
Finding: The higher the woman’s estrogen level, the more attracted she was to high testosterone men

Question 17

Face morphing studies

Answer 17

Allow women to morph faces from masculine to feminine to find their ideal

Also measure these same women’s estrogen levels
Finding: The higher a women’s estrogen level (fertile phase), the more she masculinizes the face

Question 18

Face morphing studies

pt2

Answer 18

The higher the woman’s progesterone level (luteal-phase), the more she feminizes the fac
Also like faces more like their own
Also report higher drives for bonding with current partners

Question 19

Pillsworth & Haelston, (2006)

Hormones Affecting Behavior

Answer 19

Studied women in happy, satisfying relationships

Around ovulation, women expressed greatest desire for other partners

Especially women who felt their partners could be better looking

Most attracted to macho, domineering types during this stage in their cycles

Question 20

Pillsworth & Haelston, (2006)

pt 2

Answer 20

Of note, their partners developed counter-strategies during this phase
Smothering their partners with love
During their fertile phases, women reported their partners were at their sweetest, most devote, most loving

Given what we just discussed earlier, what would we actually call this?
Note: Don’t dismiss your partners every caring and romantic gesture as some cheap ploy to keep you from getting knocked up by someone else

Question 21

Testosterone, Sexual Fantasies, and Desires

Answer 21

Series of interviews compiled on the effects of hormone introduction in transsexuals

The case of FtMs

Changes following uptake of high testosterone levels

Question 22

The Coolidge Effect

Answer 22

Definition: The phenomenon—seen in nearly every mammalian species in which it has been tested—whereby males exhibit continuous high sexual performance given the introduction of new receptive partners

Some evidence it can occur in females, but to a lesser extent

Question 23

The Coolidge Effect: Attributed to a joke about President Calvin Coolidge

Answer 23

The President and Mrs. Coolidge were being shown [separately] around an experimental government farm.
When Mrs. Coolidge came to the chicken yard she noticed that a rooster was mating very frequently.
She asked the attendant how often that happened and was told, “Dozens of times each day.”
Mrs. Coolidge said, “Tell that to the President when he comes by.”
Upon being told, President asked, “Same hen every time?”
The reply was, “Oh, no, Mr. President, a different hen every time.”
President: “Tell that to Mrs. Coolidge.”

Question 24

The Coolidge Effect

Answer 24

Mark Frank is a funny guy
Harem stories
“Now, I’ve never in my life been in a position to test out this theory…”

Question 25

Implications for Human Relationships

Answer 25

Implications for Human Relationships
Dissonance between biological drives and social restrictions

Recognize that sex drive isn’t the only factor leading to extra relational sex

Issues about monogamy