Investigating the relationship between olfactory acuity, disgust, and mating strategies

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marjorie L. Prokosch ◽  
Zachary Airington ◽  
Damian R. Murray
Keyword(s):  
Mating Strategies ◽  
Olfactory Acuity ◽  
The Relationship

scholarly journals Oestradiol level and opportunistic mating in women

2009 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 179-182 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristina M Durante ◽  
Norman P Li
Keyword(s):  
Mating Strategies ◽  
Relationship Commitment ◽  
Physiological Mechanisms ◽  
Self And Other ◽  
Oestradiol Level ◽  
Social Motivations ◽  
Primary Relationship ◽  
Perceived Desirability ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Subjective Reports

The ovarian steroid hormone oestradiol plays a crucial role in female fertility, sexual motivation and behaviour. We investigated the relationship between oestradiol and the likelihood that women would engage in opportunistic mating. Two salivary samples were taken from normally cycling women within the peri-ovulatory and luteal phase of the menstrual cycle. At both testing sessions, participants also completed self-perceived desirability scales and provided subjective reports of sexual and social motivations, and satisfaction with their primary relationship partner. Oestradiol level was positively associated with a woman's self- and other-perceived physical attractiveness and with inclinations to mate outside her current relationship. Oestradiol was marginally negatively associated with a woman's satisfaction with her primary partner and relationship commitment. Results provide support for the relationship between physical beauty and fertility and suggest that physiological mechanisms play a major role in guiding a woman's mating strategies.

scholarly journals Does self-rated attractiveness predict women’s preferences for facial masculinity? Data from an Arab sample

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Aied Alharbi ◽  
Iris Jasmin Holzleitner ◽  
Anthony J Lee ◽  
Selahattin Adil Saribay ◽  
Benedict C Jones
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Differences ◽  
Empirical Evidence ◽  
Mating Strategies ◽  
Arab Women ◽  
Compelling Evidence ◽  
Facial Masculinity ◽  
Women’S Preferences ◽  
Physically Attractive ◽  
The Relationship

Because more attractive women may be better able to attract and/or retain masculine mates, many researchers have proposed that women who consider themselves to be more physically attractive will show stronger preferences for men displaying masculine facial characteristics. Empirical evidence for this putative association between women’s self-rated attractiveness and preference for facial masculinity has come almost entirely from studies of Western women. To investigate whether this pattern of results also occurs in a sample of non-Western women, we investigated the relationship between self-rated attractiveness and facial-masculinity preferences in a sample of Arab women (N = 281). By contrast with previous findings for Western women’s self-rated attractiveness, we observed no compelling evidence that Arab women who considered themselves to be more attractive showed stronger preferences for masculine men. This result suggests that associations between self-rated attractiveness and masculinity preferences might be somewhat culture specific, potentially reflecting cultural differences in typical mating strategies.

Religion and the Body

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Fuller
Keyword(s):  
Mating Strategies ◽  
The Body ◽  
Emotional States ◽  
Genital Mutilation ◽  
Religious Traditions ◽  
Human Thought ◽  
Sensory Modalities ◽  
Religious Thoughts ◽  
And Behavior ◽  
The Relationship

The relationship between religion and the body can be viewed from two very different perspectives. The first perspective emphasizes culture’s role in constructing human thought and behavior. This approach illuminates the diverse ways that religious traditions shape human attitudes toward the nature and meaning of their physical bodies. Scholars guided by this perspective have helped us better understand religion’s complicity in such otherwise mysterious phenomena as mandated celibacy, restrictive diets, circumcision, genital mutilation, self-flagellation, or the specification of particular forms of clothing. Newly emerging information about the biological body has given rise to a second approach to the body’s relationship to religion. Rather than exploring how religion influences attitudes toward our bodies, these new studies investigate how our biological bodies exert identifiable influences on our religious thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. Neural chemistry, emotions, sensory modalities, pain responses, mating strategies, sexual arousal systems, and genetic personality predispositions all influence the personal salience of religious beliefs or behavior. Attention to the biological body unravels many of the enigmas that formerly accompanied the study of such things as the appeal of apocalyptic beliefs, the frequent connection between religion and systems of healing, devotional piety aiming toward union with a beloved deity, the specific practices entailed in ascetic spirituality, or the mechanisms triggering ecstatic emotional states.

Relation of olfactory acuity to nasal membrane function

1960 ◽  
Vol 15 (5) ◽  
pp. 914-920 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert A. Schneider ◽  
Stewart Wolf
Keyword(s):  
Nasal Obstruction ◽  
Air Conditioning ◽  
Nerve Endings ◽  
Olfactory Perception ◽  
Perception Threshold ◽  
Membrane Function ◽  
Olfactory Acuity ◽  
Air Passage ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Conditioning Apparatus

The relationship between olfactory perception threshold and accompanying degrees of nasal obstruction, swelling, color and wetness was studied in eight subjects over a prolonged period. Olfactory acuity was impaired in two situations: a) in the presence of high degrees of nasal obstruction so that relatively little of the odorant-containing air could be brought into the nose, and b) in the absence of obstruction when the mucosa was relatively pale, dry and shrunken. During intermediate degrees of nasal obstruction when substantial amounts of air could be drawn into the nose relatively high degrees of swelling, redness and wetness favored olfactory acuity. Thus smelling was best performed in the presence of a red, swollen, wet mucosa as long as swelling and secretions were not of such a degree as to substantially block air passage. The evidence suggests that contact of odorant with nerve endings is facilitated by the greater warmth and humidifying effect of nasal engorgement during hyperfunction of the ‘air-conditioning’ apparatus of the nose. Submitted on March 14, 1960

scholarly journals Does Self-rated Attractiveness Predict Women’s Preferences for Facial Masculinity? Data From an Arab Sample

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah A. H. Alharbi ◽  
Iris J. Holzleitner ◽  
S. Adil Saribay ◽  
Benedict C. Jones ◽  
Anthony J. Lee
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Differences ◽  
Empirical Evidence ◽  
Mating Strategies ◽  
Arab Women ◽  
Compelling Evidence ◽  
Facial Masculinity ◽  
Face Images ◽  
Women’S Preferences ◽  
Physically Attractive ◽  
The Relationship

Abstract Objectives Because more attractive women may be better able to attract and/or retain masculine mates, many researchers have proposed that women who consider themselves to be more physically attractive will show stronger preferences for men displaying masculine facial characteristics. Empirical evidence for this putative association between women’s self-rated attractiveness and preference for facial masculinity has come almost entirely from studies of Western women. Thus, we investigated whether this pattern of results also occurs in a sample of non-Western women. Methods We investigated the relationship between self-rated attractiveness and facial-masculinity preferences in a sample of Arab women (N = 281). Facial-masculinity preferences were assessed from attractiveness judgments of masculinized versus feminized versions of face images. Results By contrast with previous findings for Western women’s self-rated attractiveness, we observed no compelling evidence that Arab women who considered themselves to be more attractive showed stronger preferences for masculine men. Conclusions Our results suggest that previously reported associations between self-rated attractiveness and masculinity preferences might be somewhat culture specific, potentially reflecting cultural differences in typical mating strategies.

scholarly journals Genetic variation across the human olfactory receptor repertoire alters odor perception

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Casey Trimmer ◽  
Andreas Keller ◽  
Nicolle R. Murphy ◽  
Lindsey L. Snyder ◽  
Jason R. Willer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Variation ◽  
Olfactory Receptor ◽  
Functional Assay ◽  
Receptor Repertoire ◽  
Olfactory Acuity ◽  
Intensity Perception ◽  
And Gender ◽  
The Relationship

ABSTRACTThe human olfactory receptor repertoire is characterized by an abundance of genetic variation that affects receptor response, but the perceptual effects of this variation are unclear. To address this issue, we sequenced the OR repertoire in 332 individuals and examined the relationship between genetic variation and 276 olfactory phenotypes, including the perceived intensity and pleasantness of 68 odorants at two concentrations, detection thresholds of three odorants, and general olfactory acuity. Genetic variation in a single OR frequently associated with odorant perception, and we validated 10 cases in which in vitro OR function correlated with in vivo odorant perception using a functional assay. This more than doubles the published examples of this phenomenon. For eight of these 10 cases, reduced receptor function associated with reduced intensity perception. In addition, we used participant genotypes to quantify genetic ancestry and found that, in combination with single OR genotype, age and gender, we can explain between 10 and 20% of the perceptual variation in 15 olfactory phenotypes, highlighting the importance of single OR genotype, ancestry, and demographic factors in variation of olfactory perception.

scholarly journals Sex differences in human mate preferences vary across sex ratios

2021 ◽  
Vol 288 (1955) ◽  
pp. 20211115
Author(s):  
Kathryn V. Walter ◽  
Daniel Conroy-Beam ◽  
David M. Buss ◽  
Kelly Asao ◽  
Agnieszka Sorokowska ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sex Ratio ◽  
Mate Preferences ◽  
Mating Strategies ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Opposite Sex ◽  
Divorce Rates ◽  
Power Of Choice ◽  
Human Mating ◽  
The Relationship

A wide range of literature connects sex ratio and mating behaviours in non-human animals. However, research examining sex ratio and human mating is limited in scope. Prior work has examined the relationship between sex ratio and desire for short-term, uncommitted mating as well as outcomes such as marriage and divorce rates. Less empirical attention has been directed towards the relationship between sex ratio and mate preferences, despite the importance of mate preferences in the human mating literature. To address this gap, we examined sex ratio's relationship to the variation in preferences for attractiveness, resources, kindness, intelligence and health in a long-term mate across 45 countries ( n = 14 487). We predicted that mate preferences would vary according to relative power of choice on the mating market, with increased power derived from having relatively few competitors and numerous potential mates. We found that each sex tended to report more demanding preferences for attractiveness and resources where the opposite sex was abundant, compared to where the opposite sex was scarce. This pattern dovetails with those found for mating strategies in humans and mate preferences across species, highlighting the importance of sex ratio for understanding variation in human mate preferences.

Brachytrupes megacephalus Lefèbvre, 1827 (Orthoptera, Gryllidae) in the Maltese Islands: notes on biogeography, behaviour, and habitat of populations in the central Mediterranean area and the Maghreb

Zootaxa ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 4975 (3) ◽  
pp. 544-560
Author(s):  
LOUIS F. CASSAR ◽  
ELISABETH CONRAD ◽  
CHARLES GALDIES
Keyword(s):  
Weather Conditions ◽  
Mediterranean Area ◽  
Mating Strategies ◽  
Habitats Directive ◽  
Patch Occupancy ◽  
Central Mediterranean ◽  
Maltese Islands ◽  
Bern Convention ◽  
Eu Habitats Directive ◽  
The Relationship

Brachytrupes megacephalus (Lefebvre, 1827) is of significant biogeographic importance. It occurs in Sicily and on some of the circum-Sicilian and Pelagian islands, as well as in the Maltese Islands, Sardinia and the Maghreb (notably but not exclusively, in Algeria and Tunisia, where it maintains populations in both coastal and desert regions). Within European territory, it occurs solely in Italy and Malta, where it is protected under the EU Habitats Directive and the Bern Convention. In northern Africa, the species is regarded as a polyphagous pest, particularly in Saharan locations. The present work is based on field observations, mostly from the Maltese Islands, that span more than three decades; it provides insights on spatial distribution, population trends and behaviour. In examining the relationship between the species’ frequency during its mating season and weather conditions, results suggest a weak yet statistically significant correlation between mating strategies and ambient meteorological conditions. Moreover, patch occupancy in spring and autumn varied considerably within a specified area of study, primarily due to competitive mating strategies employed in spring, with an occupancy ratio of approximately 1:6. To-date, the species is known from 13 locations, one in Gozo and 12 in Malta, of which some constitute the Ahrax promontory metapopulation. Connectivity between the Ahrax subpopulation cluster is discussed in the light of habitat and topographical characteristics. Contrasting findings on variances in behaviour between Maltese populations and other populations in Sicily and the Maghreb are discussed. Discernible behavioural disparities include the length of excavated tunnels during spring and summer/autumn seasons in the different geographical locations, attraction to artificial sources of light, and the degree of damage to crops across geographic regions. 

Variation in Women’s Mate Preferences Over the Development of a Monogamous Relationship Corresponds with Changes in Men’s Life History Strategy (Author's Accepted Version)

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebecca Owens ◽  
Helen Driscoll ◽  
Daniel Farrelly
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Life History Theory ◽  
Life History Strategy ◽  
Mate Preferences ◽  
Mating Strategies ◽  
Mating Effort ◽  
Monogamous Relationship ◽  
Parenting Effort ◽  
The Relationship

Much research has examined how men’s mating strategies change over the development of a relationship consistent with predictions from Life History Theory. Specifically, research shows both physiological and behavioural indicators of mating effort decrease once men are mated, and further once they become fathers, unless they remain engaged in mating effort. This switch from mating to parenting effort is sexually selected, and therefore the corresponding shifts in women should be examined, though to date, women’s short- or long-term mate preferences have been studied as separate entities rather than as a transition from short- to long- term. We examined how women’s mate preferences changed over the development of a relationship, to see if they varied consistently with what is known about variation in men’s mating effort. Vignettes detailed four key milestones in the development of a relationship and women rated the importance of the man at each stage displaying indicators of mating or parenting effort. Women increasingly prioritised indicators of parenting effort in men as the relationship developed, consistent with what is known about men’s reduction in mating effort in favour of parenting effort over the development of a relationship. The results support predictions from Life History Theory and highlight the interacting mutually reinforcing nature of sexually selected behaviours.

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