Menstrual cycle shifts in attentional bias for courtship language

Menstrual cycle shifts in attentional bias for courtship language
Maya L. Rosen, Hassan H. López (2009)


Abstract

The current study investigated whether women show an attentional bias toward courtship language during the fertile phase of their menstrual cycle. Thirty heterosexual women (17 naturally cycling, 13 using hormonal contraceptives) completed a dichotic listening task on both a high and low fertility day of their menstrual cycle. Participants were asked to verbally repeat (shadow) an emotionally neutral target passage played in one ear while either a neutral or courtship distracter was played in the other ear. Courtship distracters were flirtatious in content but not overtly sexual. Shadowing errors were coded as a measure of attentional bias toward the distracter. Saliva samples were taken to determine whether levels of estradiol, progesterone and/or testosterone correlated with task performance. As predicted, naturally cycling women made more shadowing errors when listening to a courtship distracter during the fertile phase of their cycle than during the nonfertile phase. This effect was moderated by relationship status, such that fertile, mated women showed an attentional bias for courtship language but
fertile single women did not. However, because of small sample sizes in the analysis, this relationship should be viewed as preliminary. Hormonal analysis revealed that higher levels of salivary estradiol predicted greater attentional bias toward courtship language in naturally cycling women. These results suggest that women's attention is drawn to verbal courtship signals when they are fertile, and that this shift is linked to increased estradiol release during the periovulatory phase.

[Small sample size.]

Does the contraceptive pill alter mate choice in humans?

Does the contraceptive pill alter mate choice in humans?
Alexandra Alvergne and Virpi Lummaa (2010)
http://sites.google.com/site/droptone/contraceptive_pill.PDF


Abstract

Female and male mate choice preferences in humans both vary according to the menstrual cycle. Women prefer more masculine, symmetrical and genetically unrelated men during ovulation compared with other phases of their cycle, and recent evidence suggests that men prefer ovulating women to others. Such monthly shifts in mate preference have been suggested to bring evolutionary benefits in terms of reproductive success. New evidence is now emerging that taking the oral contraceptive pill might significantly alter both female and male mate choice by removing the mid-cycle change
in preferences. Here, we review support for such conclusions and speculate on the consequences of pill-induced choice of otherwise less-preferred partners for relationship satisfaction, durability and, ultimately, reproductive outcomes.


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A few quotes:

"Cycling preferences in women are likely to enable discriminative mate choice at peak fertility for mate genetic quality and/or compatibility."

"All ovulatory-cycle effects are potentially modified by oral contraceptives. The impact of such oestrous disruption on reproductive success is currently unknown although it is likely that if oestrus is adaptive, then any drug specifically designed to eliminate ovulation and the associated oestrus psychological and physical changes will have maladaptive side-effects."

"We can ... predict that: (i) the use of the pill when choosing a partner for reproduction has consequences for actual mate choice ... and (ii) commencement or cessation of the pill influences the quality and stability of pre-existing long-term relationships."

"There is emerging evidence that the use of the pill by women can disrupt: (i) the variation in mate preferences across their menstrual cycle; (ii) their attractiveness to men; and (iii) their ability to compete with normally cycling women for access to mates."

"It is worthy of note that since the approval of the pill as a contraceptive method by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 1960 and the subsequent rapid export, for example, to Canada (1961), Australia (1961) and Europe (West Germany, 1961, UK, 1961, France, 1967), the potential side-effects on a range of women’s psychological attributes and behaviour have never been investigated by FDA or drug companies. Given the centrality of relationship satisfaction and offspring quality in the subjective well-being of women and mothers, drug companies marketing hormonal contraception should be encouraged to institute large-scale clinical trials investigating behavioural and psychological side-effects potentially associated with oral contraceptives, and any possible maladaptive side-effects of pill use on mate choice, attractiveness, relationship satisfaction, divorce probability and offspring health."

Hormonal birth control use and relationship jealousy: Evidence for estrogen dosage effects

Hormonal birth control use and relationship jealousy: Evidence for estrogen dosage effects
Kelly D Cobey et al.; 2011
http://pcwww.liv.ac.uk/~scr/pdf/2010_Cobey%20PAID.pdf


Abstract

Women who use hormonal contraceptives have been shown to report higher levels of jealousy than women who are regularly cycling. Here, we extend these findings by examining if self reported levels of jealousy vary with the dose of synthetic estrogen and progestin found in combined oral contraceptives in a sample of 275 women. A univariate ANOVA analysis revealed that higher levels of ethinyl estradiol were associated with significantly higher levels of self-reported jealousy. There was, however, no relationship between combined oral contraceptive progestin dose and reported jealousy levels. When controlling for age, relationship status, mood, and combined oral contraceptive progestin dose the results for ethinyl estradiol were maintained. A test for the interaction between the jealousy sub-scale items (reactive, possessive, and anxious jealousy) was however non-significant: ethinyl estradiol dose thus does not affect one type of jealousy more than another but rather affects overall jealousy. The implications of these findings are discussed in the context of their evolutionary consequences on mate choice and relationship dynamics.