The present study, performed within the framework of evolutionary
psychology, is an examination of the influence of hormonal fluctuations,
associated with the phases of the menstrual cycle, on judgements of male and
female facial attractiveness. It was hypothesized that women in the periovulatory
phase would be more discriminating in rating male facial
attractiveness than women in the early follicular phase, due to an increased
likelihood of conceiving. Alternatively, if peri-ovulatory women are too
selective, they may not fmd a mate; therefore, women in the peri-ovulatory
phase could be more discriminating than women in the early-follicular phase.
Judgements of female facial attractiveness were also examined as it may be
associated with same sex competition. Lastly, salivary testosterone was
analyzed in order to investigate the relationship between attractiveness ratings
and testosterone levels, as testosterone is linked to women's libido and
sexuality. To test these hypotheses, 129 undergraduate females who had
regular and normally cycling menstrual cycles rated male and female facial
attractiveness twice, once during the peri-ovulatory phase and again during
the early-follicular phase. Menstrual phase had no significant influence on
judgements of facial attractiveness of male and female faces. Female faces were rated as more attractive than male faces independent of phase, and the
ratings were more variable for the female faces than the male faces. There
was no difference in levels of salivary testosterone during the peri-ovulatory
and the early follicular phase, and no significant correlations were obtained to
support the hypothesis of a relationship between judgements of attractiveness
and testosterone. / Thesis / Master of Science (MSc)
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:mcmaster.ca/oai:macsphere.mcmaster.ca:11375/22511 |
| Date | 07 1900 |
| Creators | Fisher, Maryanne |
| Contributors | deCatanzaro, Denys, Psychology |
| Source Sets | McMaster University |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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