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Women’s Preferences During Ovulation

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  • First Online:
Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science

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Synonyms

Conception risk; Endocrine changes; Fertility; Human estrus; Menstrual cycle; Mid-cycle

Definition

There is evidence to suggest that women’s mate preferences diverge across their menstrual cycle; such changes likely relate to hormone fluctuations required to support ovulation.

Introduction

A growing literature, spanning a number of academic disciplines, including psychology, cognitive sciences, and medicine, has demonstrated that women’s preferences, behavior, and physical appearance vary as a function of their menstrual cycle phase (reviewed in Gildersleeve et al. 2014). This literature is consistent with a previously established and parallel body of work documenting cyclical shifts in preferences and physical appearance in nonhuman primate species. In nonhuman primates overt sexual swellings and changes in attractiveness in proximity to ovulation are termed “estrus” signals. Based on the fact that human females do not experience overt sexual swellings, and that they are...

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, Ottawa, ON, Canada

    Kelly Cobey

  2. Department of Psychology, University of Stirling, School of Natural Science, Stirling, Scotland

    Kelly Cobey

Authors
  1. Kelly Cobey
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Kelly Cobey .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Oakland Univ Dept of Psycholgy, Rochester, Michigan, USA

    Viviana Weekes-Shackelford

  2. Department of Psychology, Oakland University, Rochester, Michigan, USA

    Todd K. Shackelford

  3. Rochester, Michigan, USA

    Viviana A. Weekes-Shackelford

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© 2016 Crown Copyright

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Cobey, K. (2016). Women’s Preferences During Ovulation. In: Weekes-Shackelford, V., Shackelford, T., Weekes-Shackelford, V. (eds) Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_7-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_7-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-16999-6

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