A common occurrence in bars and nightclubs around the world is the infamous chat-up line. Men approach women and seek to engage them with an opening line that is hopefully engaging, witty, and memorable. Oftentimes the objective of such approaches is to obtain the woman's phone number. Unfortunately, most men are quite abysmal in this subtle skill, and as such more often than not, they are summarily brushed off. There are several reasons that might moderate the success rate of such approaches, one of the most intriguing of which is where a woman is in her menstrual cycle.
Evolutionary psychologists have spent considerable time studying the effects of the menstrual cycle on a wide range of behaviors, preferences, and cognitions. In my own lab, I am working on a project with one of my doctoral students (Eric Stenstrom) on the effects of the menstrual cycle on a wide range of consumption phenomena (a topic that I will address in a future post). For example, food consumption and beautification-related behaviors are both highly linked to a woman's menstrual cycle.
Returning to the chat-up lines, Nicolas Gueguen recently published a paper in Biological Psychology wherein he sought to determine whether the likelihood of a woman giving out her phone number was linked to her menstrual cycle. As is often the case in this type of work, the cycle was divided into three phases namely the menstrual, follicular, and luteal phases. Given that a woman is maximally fertile during the follicular phase, it was hypothesized that male advances would be most successful during this short "window of opportunity." Furthermore, Dr. Gueguen hypothesized that this effect would only be operative for women who were not taken contraceptive pills.
Here are the findings for women who were not on the pill:
7.8% agreed to give their numbers in the menstrual phase (4 out of 51)
21.7% agreed to give their numbers in the follicular phase (13 out of 60)
7.9% agreed to give their numbers in the luteal phase (7 out of 89)
The percentage in the fertile phase (21.7%) was statistically higher than the two non-fertile phases. A man is close to three times more likely to obtain a woman's phone number during the fertile phase! This effect was not operative for women who were on the pill (although directionally speaking, those in the fertile phase did agree to give their phone numbers more often).
There you have it! This study is a good demonstration of the power of evolutionary theory in generating interesting and innovative hypotheses. Contrary to the ignorant rants made by many individuals who have an ideological aversion toward evolutionary psychology, this research clearly shows that evolutionary hypotheses are falsifiable. That evolutionary-informed hypotheses are oftentimes not falsified is a testament to the explanatory power of the framework, which continues to amass empirical evidence in support of its central tenets at a bewildering pace.
Source for Image:
http://img.metro.co.uk/i/pix/2008/02/coupledance2_450x300.jpg
