Freestocks Increasing numbers of us are seeking partners using mobile dating apps. Tinder, the most popular app, has upwards of 50 millions users worldwide. Relationship scientists, who have spent decades studying how people pair up, have begun wondering whether dating apps like Tinder might be changing what we seek in a partner. For example, studies of couples who hooked up when Tinder, Bumble, Grindr and the rest were little more than a twinkle in a software engineer’s eye showed that humans tend to ‘assort’. That is, to end up with partners whom they match on certain characteristics, s ..read more

Women’s desire for more valuable engagement rings is linked to the availability of potential partners. ilovebutter/flickr The average American husband-to-be will spend around $6000 on an engagement ring for his partner. Unlike other large purchases, such as a house or car, an engagement ring serves little practical purpose. You can’t live it in, eat it, or use it to get from A to B. Romantics may claim that an engagement ring is a token of love, but to those with a more cold-hearted scientific perspective it seems clear that an engagement ring is a costly signal of a man’s (and it usually is a ..read more

Scientists investigate the link between perceptions of leadership ability and partner attractiveness. New Jersey-based management studies professors have found that the perceived competence of leaders is affected by the attractiveness of their spouses. An attractive partner enhances the apparent leadership ability of a man, but female leaders suffer a penalty when their partner is attractive. Humans are social beings, and we like to come together to solve problems. Often, even when people are working on a minor task, a hierarchy will emerge, headed by a leader. Leaders can also be appointed or ..read more

Do spelling mistakes affect how attractive we seem on dating apps? Better check your dictionary! Freestocks More of us are searching for partners on dating apps than ever before. Even as we shelter in place we can browse Bumble or Tinder for our next virtual date: much safer than crowding into a bar in hopes of meeting The One. In some ways, searching for a partner on an app rather than in real life isn’t all that different. In both cases, out first impressions are based on appearance. That’s why we make such an effort to take and upload flattering photos to our profiles (although I am su ..read more

Winning an MMA bout can affect the attractiveness of a fighter’s body odour. Alex Chu/Flickr Scientists have discovered that the sweet smell of success is more than a mere metaphor: it has a basis in fact. Humans compete in various endeavours. The most clear cut examples are in combat sports, like boxing, taekwondo, or Mixed Martial Arts (MMA). Non-human animals also compete, mostly over valued resources such as food, territory, or access to mates. Animals tend not to enter into combat lightly, though. Often individuals are aware of their position in a dominance hierarchy and only ch ..read more

Two new research studies reveal whether Tinder is making us choose different types of partner or relationships than we otherwise would. Do we end up with different partners or in different relationships if we use dating apps like Tinder? FreestocksFinding love is a perennial problem. In the distant past, our ancestors lived in small social groups and rarely moved far from the places they were raised. Their romantic options were limited. Choosing the right partner may have been the most important decision in their lives. Today, the decision is no less important but the pool of potential partner ..read more

Psychopaths exert a strange allure. The fictional psychopath has been a staple of film and television for decades, and the popularity of true-crime podcasts and streaming-service documentary series suggests that our fascination with psychopathy is on the increase. A curiosity about the psychological precursors of manipulative or violent behavior can be laudable: if we understand psychopathy we will be better able to address its negative consequences. However, interest in psychopaths often appears to be motivated less by a desire to learn than by a desire for the psychopaths themselves. In the ..read more

Emotional responses to a partner’s involvement with another in monogamous and consensually non-monogamous relationshipsDo people in consensually non-monogamous relationships experience jealousy or compersion? Flickr/Eddy Van 3000Imagine yourself in this scenario: you are in a long-term relationship, and one day you discover that your partner is pursuing a relationship with someone else. How would you feel?Most of us would experience jealousy: an unpleasant sensation that can motivate behavior designed to reduce the risk of our loved one leaving us for someone new. These behaviors can be positi ..read more

Theresa May, who seems to follow the lead of former British PM, Margaret Thatcher, in affecting a deeper voice to project authority. Number 10/FlickrFormer British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, in the early phase of her political career, struggled to be taken seriously. In an attempt to project authority she cultivated the image of the “Iron Lady”, lowering the pitch of her voice to fit in with her male colleagues in the House of Commons.Thatcher went on to win three general elections, but it’s impossible to say whether her resonant tones were the decisive factor in her victories (soon-to ..read more