This Is How Hormonal Cycles Affect How Women Look At Men

There's been plenty of debate on whether women's cycles affect their preferences when it comes to men and dating.

One hypothesis, the good genes ovulatory shift hypothesis (GGOSH)1, suggests varying levels of fertility throughout a woman's cycle affect how they perceive male behavior.

To test GGOSH, the researchers studied 157 female participants (the largest sample size to date on the topic). All the participants were 18 to 35, straight, and had regular and natural periods.

In four separate tests, the women watched videos of a man getting to know a woman. The women were asked to focus on the man's behavior and then rate him on attractiveness for both a noncommitted, short-term relationship and a long-term one.

So, at the very least, women can say their preferences in men's behavior will not be influenced by their time of the month. However, there was another interesting finding that came out of the research.

When most fertile (the point midway between periods), women actually evaluated every man as a little more attractive in general, compared to other times during the cycle.

Julia Stern, Ph.D., first author of the study says, "The finding that ratings of attractiveness increase in the fertile phase, independently of men's behavior, is new—and indicates that women's mating motivation is likely to be higher in the fertile phase."