From the dance of the sexes to child-rearing practices to how we cooperate and clash: These are the kinds of questions pondered annually at the worldwide gathering of the Human Behavior and Evolution Society, which held its 23rd meeting last June 29-July 3 in Montpellier, France. The researchers put a decidedly Darwinian frame on things, emphasizing evolved nature over the nurture of accumulated culture. (Leading to criticisms of the field as not-quite science, but so many "just-so" stories dressed up with data, our answer to "How the Leopard Got his Spots.")
And while not all of the papers delivered dealt directly with sexuality, a good number did. Past years have brought the likes of:
1 The human penis as a semen displacement device.
2 The composition of human semen and its possible effects on female behavior.
3 Men in committed, romantic relationships have lower testosterone
4 A great sense of humor is a good genes indicator: ovulatory cycle effects on the sexual attractiveness of male humor ability.
In honor of our Lust Issue, we present you with the Darwin Between the Sheets Challenge: Which of the titles below are actual symposium papers and posters from last summer's gathering? Which are not? Answers below. No fair Googling.
In honor of our Lust Issue, we present you with the Darwin Between the Sheets Challenge: Which of the titles below are actual symposium papers and posters from last summer's gathering? Which are not? Answers below. No fair Googling.
1 Mate choice and stature in African Pygmies.
2 Variation in perceptions of physical dominance and trustworthiness predicts individual differences in the effect of relationship context on women's preferences for masculine pitch in men's voices.
3 A typological approach to understanding functions of human female orgasm.
4 Gaze patterns are a strong and objective indicator of human sexual orientation.
5 Detecting men and women's proneness to infidelity from facial cues.
6 Does testosterone correlate with marital and parental status in a polygynous, high fertility population.
7 Changes in bling predict attractiveness: female attention as a function of reflective adornment displays in a Brazilian coastal town.
8 Tops to bottoms: Fluidity of BDSM preferences in a longitudinal study.
9 Reported jealousy differs as a function of menstrual cycle stage and contraceptive pill use: A within-subjects investigation.
10 The science of seduction: teaching seduction techniques and evaluating their effectiveness.
11 Neural imaging and the apprentice pickup artist: brain-area engagement in subjects listening to "The Mystery Method: How to Get Beautiful Women Into Bed" by Mystery, Chris Odom and Neil Strauss.
12 Speech tempo: an honest signal for selecting mate for reproduction
13 Nobody's perfect: the relationship between intelligence, physical attractiveness and funniness.
14 John, Paul, George or Ringo: alternative mating strategies and preferences for pop archetypes.
15 Women's perceptions of men's sensation seeking propensity from their dance movements.
16 Do women prefer faces of athletic or verbally fluent men?
17 Financially independent women prefer feminised male faces.
18 Predicting preferences for sex acts: which traits matter most, and why?
19 Shorter men have more one-night stands: Initial support for the importance of male contests over female mate choice in human sexual selection.
20 Male fan testosterone and attractiveness: A comparative study of post-game bar hook-ups following winning and losing University of Michigan games.
Answers:
7-false, 8-false, 11-false, 14-false, 20-false; all the rest are true
