Browsing by Person "Feinberg, D."

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Men report stronger attraction to femininity in women's faces when their testosterone levels are high
(2008-11) Welling, L.; Jones, B.; Debruine, L.; Smith, F.; Feinberg, D.; Little, A.; Al-Dujaili, Emad A. S.
Many studies have shown that women's judgments of men's attractiveness are affected by changes in levels of sex hormones. However, no studies have tested for associations between changes in levels of sex hormones and men's judgments of women's attractiveness. To investigate this issue, we compared men's attractiveness judgments of feminized and masculinized women's and men's faces in test sessions where salivary testosterone was high and test sessions where salivary testosterone was relatively low. Men reported stronger attraction to femininity in women's faces in test sessions where salivary testosterone was high than in test sessions where salivary testosterone was low. This effect was found to be specific to judgments of opposite-sex faces. The strength of men's reported attraction to femininity in men's faces did not differ between high and low testosterone test sessions, suggesting that the effect of testosterone that we observed for judgments of women's faces was not due to a general response bias. Collectively, these findings suggest that changes in testosterone levels contribute to the strength of men's reported attraction to femininity in women's faces and complement previous findings showing that testosterone modulates men's interest in sexual stimuli. 2008.
Raised salivary testosterone in women is associated with increased attraction to masculine faces
(Elsevier, 2007-08) Welling, L.; Jones, B.; Debruine, L.; Conway, C. A.; Lawsmith, M.; Little, A.; Feinberg, D.; Sharp, M. A.; Al-Dujaili, Emad A. S.
Women's preferences for masculinity in men's faces, voices and behavioral displays change during the menstrual cycle and are strongest around ovulation. While previous findings suggest that change in progesterone level is an important hormonal mechanism for such variation, it is likely that changes in the levels of other hormones will also contribute to cyclic variation in masculinity preferences. Here we compared women's preferences for masculine faces at two points in the menstrual cycle where women differed in salivary testosterone, but not in salivary progesterone or estrogen. Preferences for masculinity were strongest when women's testosterone levels were relatively high. Our findings complement those from previous studies that show systematic variation in masculinity preferences during the menstrual cycle and suggest that change in testosterone level may play an important role in cyclic shifts in women's preferences for masculine traits.