No increased inbreeding avoidance during the ovulatory phase of the menstrual cycle

Iris J. Holzleitner*, Julie C. Driebe, Ruben C. Arslan, Amanda C. Hahn, Anthony J. Lee, Kieran J. O'Shea, Tanja M. Gerlach, Lars Penke, Ben C. Jones, Lisa M. DeBruine

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

1 Citation (Scopus)
28 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Mate preferences and mating-related behaviours are hypothesised to change over the menstrual cycle to increase reproductive fitness. Recent large-scale studies suggest that previously reported hormone-linked behavioural changes are not robust. The proposal that women's preference for associating with male kin is down-regulated during the ovulatory (high-fertility) phase of the menstrual cycle to reduce inbreeding has not been tested in large samples. Consequently, we investigated the relationship between longitudinal changes in women's steroid hormone levels and their perceptions of faces experimentally manipulated to possess kinship cues (Study 1). Women viewed faces displaying kinship cues as more attractive and trustworthy, but this effect was not related to hormonal proxies of conception risk. Study 2 employed a daily diary approach and found no evidence that women spent less time with kin generally or with male kin specifically during the fertile phase of the menstrual cycle. Thus, neither study found evidence that inbreeding avoidance is up-regulated during the ovulatory phase of the menstrual cycle.

Original languageEnglish
Article numbere47
JournalEvolutionary Human Sciences
Volume4
Early online date28 Sept 2022
DOIs
Publication statusEarly online date - 28 Sept 2022

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
Study 1 was supported by European Research Council Grants awarded to BCJ (#282655 OCMATE) and LMD (#647910 KINSHIP). Study 2 was supported by the Leibniz Association through a seed fund of the Leibniz Science Campus ‘Primate Cognition’.

Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press.

Keywords

  • endocrinology
  • fertility
  • inbreeding avoidance
  • kin affiliation
  • kinship

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
  • Cultural Studies
  • Anthropology
  • Applied Psychology

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