HoldsUp

Chris Williamson · 2026-08-06 · Chris Williamson (host), Macken Murphy, Steve Stewart-Williams, Rob Henderson

The New Science Of Female Attraction - Psychology Roundtable

54 research-tied claims examined: 2 contradicted 2 overstated 5 context 26 supported 19 unverified

2

Contradicted by research

1:09:44Macken Murphycontradictedhigh

A worldwide preference matching paper by Paul Eastwick found no sex differences in how trait assessments predicted overall romantic evaluations of partners, with partner sexual skill ranking highest.

"So the directionally correct summary is that he had people assess their romantic partners on various traits and then saw how much those assessments correlated with their overall romantic evaluations of them. And in that he found no sex difference. Um and he also found some weird findings like that the number one thing people wanted was someone by that measure was someone good in bed." (said at 1:09:44)

In a large-scale registered report involving 10,358 participants across 43 countries examining ideal partner preference matching across 35 traits, Paul Eastwick and colleagues did find gender differences in how stated preferences related to revealed romantic evaluations. Specifically, for physical attractiveness, both men's and women's stated preferences underestimated revealed preferences (they evaluated attractive partners more favorably than predicted by their stated ideals), while for earning potential, men underestimated and women overestimated revealed preferences. Furthermore, the study did not find that partner sexual skill or being "good in bed" ranked highest among traits in predicting romantic evaluations.

1:25:22Macken Murphycontradictedmoderate

Fathers today spend more time on childcare than mothers did in the 1950s.

"a man today spends more time with children, I believe, I I think I heard this from you, that it was than than women did in the 1950s." (said at 1:25:22)

Historical time-use diary data (which began systematic collection in the United States in 1965) show that modern fathers spend significantly more time on childcare than fathers did in the mid-20th century (increasing from roughly 2.5 hours per week in 1965 to about 7–8 hours per week today). However, mothers in 1965 spent roughly 10 to 14 hours per week on primary childcare, and even more time in total contact/presence with children. Consequently, modern fathers still spend fewer hours per week on childcare than mothers did in the 1960s (and modern mothers spend even more time on childcare today than mothers did in 1965).

2

Overstated

0:24:11Chris Williamson (host)overstatedlow

Four clinical trials show that AG1 Next Gen fills common nutrient gaps, improves key nutrient levels within three months, and increases healthy gut bacteria by 10 times, even in people who eat well.

"And now they've taken it a step further with AG1 Next Gen, backed by four clinical trials. And in those trials, it was shown to fill common nutrient gaps, improve key nutrient levels in just three months, and increase healthy gut bacteria by 10 times, even in people who already eat well." (said at 0:24:11)

Published randomized clinical trials evaluating AG1 have evaluated small cohorts (n=16 to 30) over short durations (acute 8-hour absorption, 14 days, and 4 weeks). A 14-day crossover trial in 20 trained adults found that AG1 supplementation increased the number of micronutrient Estimated Average Requirements (EARs) met (notably for vitamins A, C, and E) and enriched specific probiotic taxa contained in the supplement without broadly altering overall microbial diversity. A 4-week trial in 30 adults similarly noted selective increases in supplemented probiotic species (such as Lactobacillus acidophilus and Bifidobacterium bifidum). While these trials indicate acute nutrient bioavailability and transient enrichment of supplemented strains, characterizing the body of evidence as demonstrating a 10-fold increase in healthy gut bacteria broadly or proving nutrient improvements over a three-month period overstates the duration (maximum 4 weeks published), sample sizes, and scope of the published trial findings.

1:44:00Chris Williamson (host)overstatedmoderate

Inside relationships, women self-report having approximately the amount of sex they want, while men report wanting about twice as much sex as they have.

"women say that inside of relationships they have around about the the amount of sex that they want and men self-report that they would like to have about twice as much sex as they are" (said at 1:44:00)

Large-scale cross-sectional surveys on sexual behavior and relationship satisfaction consistently find that men report a higher desired frequency of sex than women and experience a larger gap between desired and actual sexual frequency. However, the claim that women report having approximately the amount of sex they want overstates the data: representative studies show that a majority of both men and women in regular relationships report wanting sex more frequently than they currently have, even though the discrepancy is consistently larger among men.

5

Needs context

1:15:52Rob Hendersonneeds contextlow

A study of college students found that Tinder users scored significantly higher on Dark Triad personality traits (narcissism, Machiavellianism, psychopathy) than non-users, with effect sizes between d = 0.3 and 0.4.

"There was a study a few years ago on on Tinder users back when I think Tinder was still the number one dating app in the late 2010s and this was only on college students and they looked at students who uh had never used Tinder and students who were currently using Tinder and they they looked at the Dark Triad personality traits and found that the users of Tinder scored uh significantly higher uh pretty pretty sizable effect sizes .3, .4 uh higher for the Tinder users and the non-Tinder users." (said at 1:15:52)

Evidence on Tinder use and Dark Triad personality traits (Machiavellianism, narcissism, psychopathy) indicates a positive association in several cross-sectional samples, particularly among male users and those seeking short-term casual encounters. A 2020 review noted that dark personality traits were more frequently reported among male Tinder users. However, findings across university cohorts are mixed and conditional: in a large sample of 1,705 university students, dark personality traits showed no independent predictive ability for dating app use after adjusting for sociodemographic factors and broad personality traits. Furthermore, all available evidence is cross-sectional and observational.

1:21:49Steve Stewart-Williamsneeds contextmoderate

In mate allocation research where individuals design their own profiles using a budget, men allocate more budget toward increasing their wealth and status relative to women, whereas women allocate more toward increasing their physical attractiveness relative to men.

"He also did a study where he had people allocate for themselves if I'm not mistaken. And it it mirrored the uh it mirrored that that same pattern where it's like when men were kind of RPG style building their own character... basically men tried to make themselves richer relative to women and women tried to make themselves prettier relative to men." (said at 1:21:49)

The mate budget allocation paradigm developed by Norman Li and colleagues investigates how individuals prioritize traits under constrained budgets when designing ideal romantic partners, rather than self-profiles. In these experiments, when allocating limited "mate dollars," men consistently allocate more budget toward a prospective partner's physical attractiveness, treating it as an economic necessity, whereas women allocate more budget toward a partner's social status and resources (PMID: 12051582, PMID: 31494937). While the speaker characterizes this sex-differentiated allocation pattern as individuals designing their own "RPG style" characters or self-profiles, the published mate-budget experiments demonstrate this trade-off in the selection and construction of prospective mates.

1:22:55Macken Murphyneeds contextlow

Historical research by Lynne Luciano documents that male beautification and grooming practices have increased steadily decade over decade since the 1990s.

"this is actually just the newest instantiation of a documented trend going back to the 1990s. You can read the historian Lynne Luciano's work on this, uh, where male beautification has increased decade on decade" (said at 1:22:55)

Historian Lynne Luciano's seminal work, 'Looking Good: Male Body Image in Modern America' (published in 2001), documented the historical emergence and acceleration of male body consciousness, grooming, cosmetic procedures, and physical self-presentation across the post-World War II era through the 1990s. While Luciano's research established that modern male beautification and appearance anxieties expanded significantly leading into the late 20th century, her 2001 book could not have documented trends occurring 'decade on decade' after the 1990s.

1:31:30Chris Williamson (host)needs contextmoderate

Hypermasculinized male faces are less attractive to women than average or slightly feminized male faces.

"that hypermasculinized face we know from tons and tons of data is not as attractive as a average or slightly feminized face on a man is to women." (said at 1:31:30)

Experimental facial morphing studies (notably Perrett et al., 1998) demonstrated that women often rate slightly feminized male faces as more attractive than hypermasculinized faces, partly because exaggerated masculine facial features are associated with negative attributions such as coldness and lower perceived parental investment. However, describing this as an absolute rule oversimplifies a complex and mixed literature: subsequent cross-cultural and ecological studies show that female preferences for facial masculinity vary substantially based on mating context (short-term vs. long-term), participant characteristics, and local socioeconomic or environmental conditions.

1:38:48Steve Stewart-Williamsneeds contexthigh

During heart attacks, chest and arm pain are less common in women than in men, while shortness of breath is more common in women.

"So the pain in the sort of chest and down the arms is quite well known. Um that's much less common in women. Uh shortness of breath is a much more common uh symptom in women." (said at 1:38:48)

The claim is partially accurate but requires important qualification. Chest pain remains the cardinal and most common symptom of acute myocardial infarction (heart attack) in both women and men, experienced by the vast majority of female patients (over 80%). While meta-analyses and large registry studies (such as Canto et al., 2012, examining >1.1 million patients) demonstrate that women present without chest pain slightly more often than men (42.0% vs 30.7%), describing chest and arm pain as 'much less common in women' is misleading because chest pain is still by far their most frequent symptom. Additionally, studies report that arm pain occurs at similar or even slightly higher rates in women than in men. Conversely, the assertion that shortness of breath (dyspnea) is more common in women during a heart attack is well supported by observational registry data (e.g., OR 1.45).

26

Supported by research

0:00:15Chris Williamson (host)supportedlow

A study at Northumbria University using motion capture on 30 male dancers converted into computer avatars found that women judged dancers as most attractive when they moved their head, neck, and torso the most while showing creative variation in movements and rhythm.

"According to a study by Northumbria University, the dancers women found most attractive were ones who moved their head, neck, and torso the most while also mixing up their moves creatively and showing more variation in rhythm. To test this, researchers used motion capture technology on 30 male dancers, turned their movements into computer avatars." (said at 0:00:15)

A 2011 study conducted by researchers at Northumbria University used 3D motion-capture technology to record 19 men dancing to a basic rhythm, mapped their movements onto featureless computer avatars, and had 39 women rate their dance quality. Biomechanical analysis revealed that the amplitude and variability of movements in the neck and trunk (torso), along with speed of movement of the right knee, were the key predictors of perceived dance quality. A subsequent 2013 study from the same laboratory tested 30 male dancers to examine cues of physical strength.

  • supports: Male dance moves that catch a woman's eye. (Biology letters 2011) · cited 79x in the literature
    "Nineteen males were recorded using the 'Vicon' motion-capture system while dancing to a basic rhythm; controlled stimuli in the form of avatars were then created in the form of 15 s video clips, and rated by 39 females for dance quality... Linear regression subsequently revealed that three movement measures were key predictors of dance quality; these were variability and amplitude of movements of the neck and trunk, and speed of movements of the right knee." (abstract, results, passage verified)
    pubmedfull study (doi)
0:18:15Rob Hendersonsupportedmoderate

Survey data shows that roughly 18% to 20% of men report having three or more sexual partners within the past year, a figure that has remained relatively unchanged since the year 2000.

"So when you look at the data, it looks like something like about maybe 18 to 20% of men report having three or more sexual partners within the past year. And that really hasn't changed since about the year of 2000, which is as far back as I could find data on this." (said at 0:18:15)

Nationally representative survey data from the US General Social Survey (GSS) examining sexual behavior between 2000 and 2018 among adults aged 18 to 44 years evaluated the annual number of sexual partners (categorized as 0, 1, 2, or ≥3 partners). While the proportion of sexually inactive young men increased significantly over this period (coinciding with drops in men reporting 1 partner), the proportion of men reporting 3 or more sexual partners in the past year remained relatively stable across the survey waves at roughly 15% to 20%.

0:18:33Rob Hendersonsupportedmoderate

In survey data on sexual behavior, the most common reported number of sexual partners in the past 12 months is one, followed by zero.

"The most common response to the question of how many partners have you had in the past 12 months is one followed by zero." (said at 0:18:33)

Nationally representative survey data on sexual behavior, such as the General Social Survey (GSS) in the United States, consistently demonstrate that the modal response to the number of sexual partners in the past 12 months is one, followed by zero. For example, analysis of GSS data from 2000 to 2018 shows that the vast majority of adults report exactly one sexual partner in the past year (e.g., over 70% among adults aged 25–34), with the second most prevalent category being zero partners (ranging from ~7% to ~31% depending on age group and time period), while reporting two or more partners is much less common.

0:32:00Macken Murphysupportedmoderate

For couples trying to conceive, cumulative fertility is approximately 85% after one year and rises into the 90s after two years.

"it's like 85% fertility for a couple for one year, then it jumps up to in the 90s after two years." (said at 0:32:00)

Published epidemiological and clinical data consistently demonstrate that among couples having regular intercourse and attempting to conceive, cumulative pregnancy rates reach approximately 80% to 85% (and up to ~90% with timed intercourse) after 12 months (one year). Of those who do not conceive in the first year, approximately half conceive in the second year, raising the cumulative pregnancy rate above 90% after two years.

0:35:53Macken Murphysupportedmoderate

Across seven major cross-cultural studies, five found an association between gender inequality and mate preferences for resources, all found age gap preferences decrease with lower gender inequality, and beauty preferences showed no change.

"There's been seven really, really big ones, and those have generally found that, I mean, in five out of the seven have found something there with regards to mate preferences for resources and gender inequality. All of the ones that checked age found that when gender inequality is lower, age mate preferences and age gaps get smaller. And then the beauty basically doesn't move." (said at 0:35:53)

Cross-cultural research on mate preferences across nations with varying levels of gender equality aligns with the speaker's summary. Major large-scale cross-cultural studies (e.g., reanalyses of Buss 1989 by Eagly & Wood 1999, Zentner & Mitura 2012, and replication efforts such as Walter et al. 2020 across 45 countries) have consistently found that as national gender equality increases, preferred age differences between partners shrink. In contrast, sex differences in preferences for physical attractiveness/beauty remain relatively stable and do not consistently attenuate with increasing gender equality, while findings regarding preferences for financial resources/earning capacity show mixed or moderate reductions in sex differences across datasets.

0:42:29Chris Williamson (host)supportedmoderate

Approximately 95% of people do not consume sufficient dietary fiber.

"95% of people don't get enough fiber" (said at 0:42:29)

National dietary survey data from the United States show that less than 5% of the population meets the recommended daily adequate intake for dietary fiber, meaning that approximately 95% of individuals fail to consume sufficient amounts.

0:45:12Macken Murphysupportedmoderate

When men are primed with scarcity, such as acute hunger, poverty, or local famine, their preferences shift toward larger women.

"when men are primed with scarcity, such as when they're hungry or when they're acutely poor or whether when there's local famine, they shift to preferring larger women" (said at 0:45:12)

Experimental and cross-cultural studies support the claim. In laboratory experiments manipulating situational resource scarcity (e.g., operationalized via acute hunger or financial dissatisfaction), men who were hungry or primed with financial scarcity preferred female figures with higher body weight and rated heavier women as more attractive compared to satiated or financially secure men.

0:48:14Macken Murphysupportedhigh

Acute starvation causes women to become infertile.

"also we know that when women are acutely starving, they become infertile, right?" (said at 0:48:14)

Acute starvation or severe low energy availability suppresses the hypothalamic-pituitary-ovarian (HPO) axis in women. In response to severe energy deficits or starvation, the body downregulates gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) pulsatility and luteinizing hormone secretion, leading to anovulation and functional hypothalamic amenorrhea (infertility) as a reversible energy-conserving adaptation.

0:49:40Macken Murphysupportedmoderate

Studies comparing men entering versus exiting a dining hall found that hungry men show a small shift toward preferring heavier women.

"Like I believe the dining hall study, for example, which has been replicated, it is pretty cool, where it's men going into a dining hall versus coming out... It was a small shift. Like it wasn't like they were preferring completely different-looking women." (said at 0:49:40)

Published experimental and field studies support the claim. Nelson and Morrison (2005) originally demonstrated that hungry men entering versus exiting a dining hall showed a preference for heavier romantic partners. Swami and Tovée (2006) successfully replicated these findings by testing male college students before and after entering a dining hall, demonstrating that hungry men rated heavier female body figures as significantly more attractive and shifted toward a preference for higher body weight compared to satiated men.

0:54:25Chris Williamson (host)supportedmoderate

Women's feet permanently or temporarily enlarge during pregnancy and childbirth.

"I didn't realize that women's feet grow like when they have kids like women's feet get bigger which is why there's a preference for smaller feet." (said at 0:54:25)

Prospective longitudinal studies demonstrate that pregnancy often causes structural changes in the feet, including arch flattening and measurable increases in foot length and width. These changes frequently persist postpartum, particularly after a woman's first pregnancy, due to increased body mass and joint laxity.

0:58:16Macken Murphysupportedlow

Higher-income women have stronger overall mate preferences across multiple traits, including physical attractiveness, compared to lower-income women.

"richer women have stronger mate preferences in general. Like in Koyama's research, in Lu's research, they want hotter guys, too." (said at 0:58:16)

Evolutionary psychology literature demonstrates that women with higher socioeconomic resources or who are experimentally primed to feel wealthier exhibit elevated mate preferences across multiple traits, including an increased preference for and approach tendency toward physically attractive partners. For example, experimental work by Lu and colleagues found that both men and women primed to feel financially abundant exhibited a greater behavioral approach tendency toward attractive members of the opposite sex. Furthermore, cross-sectional survey research shows that as female resource control increases, women place greater value on physical attractiveness relative to financial prospects, eliminating traditional sex differences in attractiveness valuation.

0:33:40Rob Hendersonsupportedhigh

Most adults report having had zero or one sexual partner in the past 12 months, with only a small minority reporting three or more partners.

"most people say in the past 12 months they've had sex with one person or zero people, and that a small number of people, I don't know what the number exactly was up there, three or more times. It was a small fragment of people who say that they've had sex, or rather well have sex, have had three or more sexual partners in the past year" (said at 0:33:40)

Nationally representative survey data from the U.S. General Social Survey (GSS) and related population surveys demonstrate that the vast majority of adults report having zero or one sexual partner in the past 12 months, with only a small minority reporting multiple (e.g., three or more) partners. For instance, analyses of the GSS show that across age groups, the majority of adults report either having 1 partner (e.g., 72.7%–79.6% of women aged 25–34) or being sexually inactive in the past year (ranging up to 30.9% among young men).

  • supports: Trends in Frequency of Sexual Activity and Number of Sexual Partners Among Adults Aged 18 … (JAMA Network Open 2020) · cited 189x in the literature
    "The increase in sexual inactivity coincided with decreases in the proportion reporting weekly or more sexual frequency (men aged 18-24 years: 51.8% vs. 37.4%; aOR for trend, 0.88 [95% CI, 0.79-0.99]; men aged 25-34 years: 65.3% vs 50.3%; aOR for trend, 0.87 [95% CI, 0.81-0.94]; women aged 25-34 years: 66.4% vs. 54.2%; aOR for trend, 0.90 [95% CI, 0.84-0.96]) or 1 sexual partner (men aged 18-24 years: 44.2% vs. 30.0%; aOR for trend, 0.88 [95% CI, 0.80-0.98]; women aged 25-34 years: 79.6% vs 72.7%; aOR for trend, 0.91 [95% CI, 0.84-0.99])" (abstract, results, passage verified)
    openalexfull study (doi)
0:51:10Macken Murphysupportedmoderate

In certain cultures, such as in Mauritania, women before marriage undergo intentional fattening practices by restricting movement and increasing caloric intake to enhance attractiveness.

"this is something that's seen in some cultures where women before marriage will restrict their movement and increase their caloric intake uh in order to... I think it was Mauritania but I'm not sure where it was them talking about how and I really realized like oh this is a beauty preference like this this is real." (said at 0:51:10)

Documented demographic and anthropological research confirms that intentional fattening practices (traditionally termed gavage or leblouh) have been practiced in Mauritania and certain other West African societies. In these traditions, girls and premarital women are subjected to increased caloric intake and reduced physical activity to achieve larger body sizes, which are culturally associated with wealth, social status, and female beauty standards for marriage. Nationally representative survey data from Mauritania indicate that roughly a quarter of surveyed women reported having experienced force-feeding during youth.

1:01:04Chris Williamson (host)supportedhigh

Perfectionism research divides perfectionism into distinct dimensions, including perfectionism directed at one's own standards and perfectionism directed toward others' standards.

"you see this with the research on perfectionism that perfectionists it comes in at least two broad buckets but maybe three I think actually. Uh the first one is perfectionism around your own behavior and your own standards but the other is perfectionism for the people around you's behavior and standards too." (said at 1:01:04)

Psychological research on perfectionism explicitly divides the construct into distinct dimensions, most notably established by Hewitt and Flett (1991). The Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale identifies three primary dimensions: self-oriented perfectionism (setting unrealistic standards for one's own behavior), other-oriented perfectionism (demanding perfection from those around oneself), and socially prescribed perfectionism (perceiving that others demand perfection from oneself). Subsequent large-scale meta-analyses consistently validate these distinct components.

1:05:43Macken Murphysupportedmoderate

Paul Eastwick's speed dating research shows that in romantic evaluations, women care more about looks and men care more about resources than stated on surveys, resulting in virtually no sex differences in revealed mate preferences.

"but when you measure it through speed dating or through how these stated preferences predict romantic evaluations of partners, well, then women care a lot more about looks than they say, and men care a little more about resources than they say, such that there's essentially no sex difference." (said at 1:05:43)

Paul Eastwick and colleagues demonstrated that while traditional sex differences emerge in self-reported or hypothetical mate preference surveys (with men stating a stronger preference for physical attractiveness and women for earning prospects), these differences disappear when evaluating actual, live romantic partners. In speed-dating and longitudinal paradigms, as well as in a subsequent meta-analysis of 97 studies, physical attractiveness and earning prospects predicted romantic evaluations to an equivalent extent for both men and women, showing essentially no significant sex differences in revealed preferences.

1:07:54Steve Stewart-Williamssupportedmoderate

Women are more likely than men to leave a romantic partner who becomes unemployed or fails to earn a living.

"women are more likely than men to leave a guy who is unemployed who becomes unemployed or uh fails to earn a decent living." (said at 1:07:54)

Sociological and demographic research examining marital dissolution and divorce initiation finds that a husband's non-employment, lower work hours, or inability to contribute full-time earnings significantly increases the risk of marital breakdown, whereas a wife's non-employment does not show a comparable destabilizing effect. Furthermore, analyses of divorce initiation indicate that economic and financial strain has a stronger effect on female-initiated divorce than on male-initiated divorce.

1:16:53Steve Stewart-Williamssupportedhigh

Men's wealth strongly predicts their likelihood of getting married, staying married, having children, and remarrying, whereas women's physical attractiveness is a stronger predictor of marriage and partner wealth than men's attractiveness.

"guys who are wealthier more likely to get married more likely to stay married more likely to have kids more likely to um get remarried if they divorce, um whereas it doesn't predict that anywhere near as well uh for women. Women's wages don't, um and women's looks are a better predictor of whether they get married uh and the uh the wealth of their marital partner um than is the case for men." (said at 1:16:53)

Empirical and review literature supports the claim that wealth strongly increases men's rates of marriage, marital stability, and fertility—effects not found for women's wealth—and that physical attractiveness is a significantly stronger predictor of marriage and partner resources for women than for men. Causal evidence from large lottery winner cohorts shows that positive wealth shocks for men significantly increase marriage formation, lower divorce risk (increasing marital stability), and increase fertility, whereas female wealth shocks show no such positive effects on marriage or fertility and temporarily increase divorce risk. Additionally, extensive literature on human mate preferences documents evolutionary and behavioral sex differences where female physical attractiveness plays a primary role in securing marital partners and partners with economic resources.

  • supports: Mate Preferences and Their Behavioral Manifestations (Annual Review of Psychology 2018) · cited 515x in the literature
    "We review context-specific shifts in mating strategy depending on individual, social, and ecological qualities such as mate value, life history strategy, sex ratio, gender economic inequality, and cultural norms. We review the empirical evidence for the impact of mate preferences on actual mating decisions. Mate preferences also dramatically influence tactics of mate attraction, tactics of mate retention, patterns of deception, causes of sexual regret, attraction to cues to sexual exploitability, attraction to cues to fertility, attraction to cues to resources and protection, derogation of competitors, causes of breakups, and patterns of remarriage." (abstract, passage verified)
    openalexfull study (doi)
  • supports: Fortunate Families? The Effects of Wealth on Marriage and Fertility (National Bureau of Economic Research 2023) · cited 7x in the literature
    "For male winners, wealth increases marriage formation and reduces divorce risk, suggesting wealth increases men's attractiveness as prospective and current partners. Wealth also increases male fertility. The only discernible effect on female winners is that wealth increases their short-run (but not long-run) divorce risk." (abstract, passage verified)
    openalexfull study (doi)
1:20:39Steve Stewart-Williamssupportedmoderate

Norman Li's mate budget research demonstrated that when given a small mate budget, sex differences become pronounced: men allocate more resources toward physical attractiveness, whereas women prioritize resources and social status.

"So yeah, Norman Li he uh did a did a study where he gave people a budget of mate dollars and then asked them, "Create create the um ideal mate that you can with this budget."... but if they had a smaller mate budget, which I think is probably more like most people's situation in life, no offense, um if they had that, they um sex differences became more pronounced. And so people uh men would spend more to get an attractive partner uh whereas women would would spend more to get a um a partner with resources and status." (said at 1:20:39)

Norman Li and colleagues (2002) examined mate selection trade-offs by having participants design an ideal long-term mate using a budget-allocation paradigm with three different budget sizes. The study demonstrated that under low/constrained mate budgets, sex differences in trait prioritization are pronounced: men treat physical attractiveness as a necessity, allocating a greater proportion of limited budget to it, whereas women treat social status and resources as necessities. Traits like kindness and intelligence were prioritized as necessities by both sexes.

1:22:54Macken Murphysupportedmoderate

Men have tripled their time spent on parenting effort since the 1970s.

"on the men's side, we see that men have tripled their parenting effort since the 1970s." (said at 1:22:54)

Nationally representative time-diary studies tracking parental time investment demonstrate a substantial increase in fathers' childcare time since the mid-1960s and 1970s. Historical time-use survey data across industrialized nations indicate that while mothers continue to perform the majority of childcare, fathers' direct engagement in childcare activities has roughly tripled (rising from approximately 2.5 hours per week in 1965 to around 7 to 8 hours per week in recent decades), narrowing the gender gap in parental time investment.

1:29:23Macken Murphysupportedlow

In Marta Kowal's beautification study, among individuals who wear makeup, men who wear makeup spend more time applying it than women do.

"And there was one other behavior, this is so counterintuitive, where among the people who did it, men actually did this behavior more. So think about different beautification behaviors. I won't bore you by making you guess, but it was makeup. Um, among people who wear makeup, the men who wear makeup spend way more time on it than the women." (said at 1:29:23)

In Marta Kowal and colleagues' cross-national research on appearance enhancement (including their large 45-country study published in Evolution and Human Behavior and related work in IJERPH), women overall spend more time applying makeup and cosmetics across the general population. However, when evaluating the specific sub-population of individuals who actively report wearing makeup, men who wear makeup report spending more time per application than women who wear makeup. In broader population samples examining sex differences in physical attractiveness investments, overall beauty investment time between men and women was comparable, with women spending more time on cosmetics and men spending more time on fitness and bodybuilding.

1:32:16Rob Hendersonsupportedlow

A study by David Puts and colleagues found that male physical formidability rated from video clips predicted the number of sexual partners men had over the following 18 months, whereas rated sexual attractiveness did not.

"David Puts uh and his colleagues famously did this study uh where they brought in a group of men and recorded them in these videos... And they found that how formidable they were uh predicted how many sexual partners they had, whereas how sexually attractive they were to these women uh had no relationship at all." (said at 1:32:16)

A study by David Puts and colleagues evaluated whether male contest competition (dominance/formidability) or female mate choice (attractiveness) better predicted mating success. Male participants were recorded competing for a date with a woman, and their interactions were evaluated for dominance and attractiveness cues. Dominance cues (such as dominant linguistic content and monotone vocal characteristics) significantly predicted men's reported number of sexual partners in the past year, whereas attractiveness and courtship measures did not significantly predict partner count. Certainty is rated as low due to the observational, cross-sectional design relying on self-reported sexual history in a university sample.

  • supports: Voice correlates of mating success in men: examining "contests" versus "mate choice" modes… (Archives of sexual behavior 2011) · cited 94x in the literature
    "Male participants (N = 111) competed with another man for a date with a woman. Recorded interactions with the competitor ("competitive recording") and the woman ("courtship recording") were analyzed for five non-linguistic vocal parameters: F(0)-SD, mean F(0), intensity, duration, and formant dispersion (D( f ), an acoustic correlate of vocal tract length), as well as dominant and attractive linguistic content. After controlling for age and attitudes toward uncommitted sex (SOI), lower F(0)-SD (i.e., a more monotone voice) and more dominant linguistic content were strong predictors of the number of past-year sexual partners, whereas mean F(0) and D( f ) did not significantly predict past-year partners." (abstract, results, passage verified)
    pubmedfull study (doi)
1:36:10Rob Hendersonsupportedmoderate

Male teachers are far more likely to engage in sexual misconduct or sleep with underage students than female teachers.

"male teachers are still far more likely to um, commit this transgression of sleeping with an underage student than female teachers are." (said at 1:36:10)

Epidemiological studies and regulatory case reviews on educator sexual misconduct consistently show that male educators constitute the vast majority of perpetrators. In a large survey of K–12 graduates in the United States (n = 6,632), 85% of educators who engaged in sexual misconduct were male, despite women comprising the majority of the K–12 teaching workforce. Similarly, an analysis of disciplinary cases from the Ontario College of Teachers found that approximately 92% of offenders were men.

1:39:17Rob Hendersonsupportedmoderate

While average differences in aggressiveness between sexes are small, individuals at the extreme tails of aggression and sexual predation are predominantly male.

"The average difference, as as you've mentioned in your book, aggressiveness is not that large, but in the tails, the most extremely aggressive, sexually predatory people tend to be men." (said at 1:39:17)

The speaker's statement accurately reflects the psychological and criminological literature on sex differences in aggression. While population-level and survey-based differences in general or low-level aggressive behavior between men and women are modest (with effect sizes typically small to moderate), the sex difference widens substantially as the severity, physical risk, and lethality of the behavior increase, resulting in a heavy overrepresentation of males in extreme violence, homicide, and predatory sexual offenses.

1:51:44Chris Williamson (host)supportedlow

Women's sexual desire declines more rapidly over the duration of a relationship than men's sexual desire does.

"Why do you think women's sexual desire declines faster than men's in relationships?" (said at 1:51:44)

Observational studies evaluating the association between relationship length and sexual desire find that relationship duration significantly and negatively predicts sexual desire in women, whereas men's sexual desire remains comparatively stable across relationship length. Because the body of evidence relies primarily on cross-sectional survey data, the certainty of evidence is low.

2:00:45Steve Stewart-Williamssupportedmoderate

Among the Wodaabe of the Sahel region, men wear makeup and participate in beauty pageants where women select partners heavily based on physical appearance.

"among the Wodaabe of the Sahel region, it's men who are, you know, wearing tons of makeup and looking incredibly glamorous and they actually stand side by side in male beauty pageants, and the the females actually pick um a partner based solely on on the physical appearance, or not not solely, but, you know, quite a lot." (said at 2:00:45)

Ethnographic research documents that among the nomadic Wodaabe (a subgroup of the Fulani in the Sahel region of West Africa), men participate in annual courtship and beauty rituals such as the Geerewol and Yaake festivals. During these gatherings, young men apply intricate facial makeup, elaborate dress, and perform ritualized dances to emphasize physical traits (such as tall stature, facial symmetry, white teeth, and expressive eyes), where women act as judges to evaluate male beauty and charm and select prospective partners.

2:03:02Rob Hendersonsupportedlow

Gay men prioritize physical appearance and youth in their mate preferences, mirroring the preferences observed in heterosexual men.

"one line of evidence for uh, you know, the sex differences being um, you know, sort of evolutionary in origin and not entirely socially constructed is the way that that gay men what they find attractive: appearance and youth and so on." (said at 2:03:02)

Empirical studies in evolutionary and social psychology consistently find that gay men prioritize physical attractiveness and youth in potential partners in patterns that closely mirror those of heterosexual men, compared to the mate selection criteria prioritized by women. Observational survey and experimental vignette research indicates that men, regardless of sexual orientation, place higher emphasis on partner physical appearance and display age preferences for younger partners relative to female counterparts.

19

No source found (not proven false)

0:08:30Macken Murphyunverifiedvery low

A study by Zeigler-Hill and colleagues in China showed that while makeup and plastic surgery increased women's facial attractiveness, informing male evaluators that a woman had plastic surgery attenuated the positive effect on datability.

"Zeigler-Hill and colleagues in China, they actually tested... So it was makeup and plastic surgery that they tested on real women's faces, and they had men assess their attractiveness, their datability, etc. And what they found was that these methods worked to make them more attractive. But when men were informed—meaning once men knew like, 'Oh, this woman looks better, but she's had plastic surgery'—they had a reduced datability effect." (said at 0:08:30)

No published record matching the specific study by Zeigler-Hill and colleagues examining the effects of makeup versus plastic surgery disclosure on women's facial attractiveness and datability evaluations by men in China was located; this does not prove the claim false.

0:13:21Steve Stewart-Williamsunverifiedvery low

Scientific evidence demonstrates that women are more prone to experiencing 'the ick' than men.

"She's predicting that, 'cause women on average are choosier, women are more prone to the ick, which is I don't think anyone would disagree with that intuition, and we've now got good evidence that that's the case." (said at 0:13:21)

No published record matching the claim that scientific evidence demonstrates women are more prone to experiencing 'the ick' than men was located; this does not prove the claim false.

0:18:38Rob Hendersonunverifiedvery low

Survey data indicates that approximately 12% to 18% of women report having three or more sexual partners in a year.

"But then when you look at the sexual behavior of women, you find essentially the same pattern, which is that something like 12 to 18% of women also report three or more sexual partners a year." (said at 0:18:38)

No published record matching the claim that 12% to 18% of women report having three or more sexual partners in a year was located; this does not prove the claim false.

0:22:04Rob Hendersonunverifiedvery low

Research on dating apps shows that on Tinder roughly 4% of male profiles receive the vast majority of swipes, and on Hinge the top 10% of male users receive 60% of all likes.

"The swipe rates are very easy to measure. There's been a lot of research on this, and we mistakenly kind of overinterpret the findings of what people see on Tinder or on Hinge, which do show on Tinder something like 4% of the men get the vast majority of the swipes, and then larger numbers of women get liked versus men. Same thing on Hinge, that the top 10% of male users on Hinge get 60% of the likes." (said at 0:22:04)

No published record matching the claim that roughly 4% of male Tinder profiles receive the vast majority of swipes or that the top 10% of male Hinge users receive 60% of all likes was located; this does not prove the claim false. These statistics originate primarily from internal dating app company blog posts, informal datasets, and secondary online analyses rather than peer-reviewed scientific studies indexed in the biomedical literature.

0:30:36Steve Stewart-Williamsunverifiedvery low

Among hunter-gatherer societies, approximately 5% of first marriages last for life.

"in those kind of societies, though, often like a small number, small but like non-trivial number, 5% or so of first marriages do last for life." (said at 0:30:36)

No published record matching the claim that approximately 5% of first marriages last for life among hunter-gatherer societies was located; this does not prove the claim false. While ethnographic studies of foraging populations document high rates of early marital instability and serial monogamy, no empirical dataset or cross-cultural review quantifying that approximately 5% of first marriages endure for a lifetime was identified in the anthropological literature.

0:32:08Chris Williamson (host)unverifiedvery low

A Kinsey Institute study of over 10,000 US adults found the average number of passionate love experiences across a lifetime is 2.05, with 14% reporting never, 28% once, 30% twice, 17% three times, and 11% four or more times.

"A 2026 Kinsey Institute study of over 10,000 US adults found the average number of passionate love experiences is 2.05. 14% reported never having been passionately in love, 28% reported being passionately in love once, 30% twice, 17% three times, 11% four or more times." (said at 0:32:08)

No published record matching a Kinsey Institute study reporting that US adults experience passionate love an average of 2.05 times in their lifetime (with 14% never, 28% once, 30% twice, 17% three times, and 11% four or more times) was located; this does not prove the claim false.

0:37:20Macken Murphyunverifiedvery low

In a 45-condition virtual environment experiment manipulating income and local gender economic inequality, individuals who were poor or whose sex was disenfranchised upregulated mate preferences for resources across ranked, rated, and hypergamous measures.

"we did a 45-condition experiment that varied people's individual income and local gender economic inequality. And then we tried to see how those variables would predict changes in mate preferences... when people are poor, as in as individuals they're poor, or as in the opposite sex is rich and their sex is disenfranchised, they upregulate their mate preferences for resources. So they wanted—this is true in ranked preferences, in rated preferences, and also in hypergamous preferences" (said at 0:37:20)

No published record matching the specific 45-condition virtual environment experiment manipulating individual income and local gender economic inequality across ranked, rated, and hypergamous mate preferences was located; this does not prove the claim false.

0:55:30Rob Hendersonunverifiedvery low

In major US metropolitan areas, young women under 30 earn more on average than young men.

"Major uh metro areas in the US. So New York, DC, Boston, LA, I think Seattle as well. I I don't know the state of Austin, but it wouldn't surprise me if Austin show the same pattern as well for under 30s." (said at 0:55:30)

No published record matching the claim that young women under 30 earn more on average than young men across major US metropolitan areas was located; this does not prove the claim false.

1:02:45Chris Williamson (host)unverifiedvery low

The Eight Sleep Pod system has been clinically proven to add up to one hour of quality sleep per night.

"That's why Eight Sleep has been clinically proven to add up to 1 hour of quality sleep per night." (said at 1:02:45)

No published record matching the claim that the Eight Sleep Pod system has been clinically proven to add up to one hour of quality sleep per night was located; this does not prove the claim false. While several published studies investigate temperature-regulated mattresses and thermal manipulation during sleep, no peer-reviewed clinical trial specifically establishing that the Eight Sleep system adds up to 1 hour of quality sleep was identified in the scientific literature.

1:03:24Macken Murphyunverifiedvery low

Institute for Family Studies data shows that women in the top 20% income quintile on average date down slightly economically.

"and this is from the Institute of Family Studies where they it's kind of it's a kind of a way of visualizing the data more than anything but they bucketed uh different income brackets. Yeah. And in the top 20% of women, like the top quintile, uh they are already on average are dating down very slightly economically." (said at 1:03:24)

No published record matching the claim that Institute for Family Studies data shows women in the top 20% income quintile on average date down slightly economically was located; this does not prove the claim false.

1:07:46Macken Murphyunverifiedlow

A speed-dating study by Robert Kurzban found evidence supporting standard evolutionary psychology predictions for sex differences in mate preferences.

"Rob Kurzban I think did one study that did find it. So it's it's mixed rather than showing no effect at all of the standard uh evolutionary psychology predicted stuff." (said at 1:07:46)

No published record matching the claim regarding Robert Kurzban's speed-dating study on sex differences in mate preferences was located; this does not prove the claim false.

1:11:57Chris Williamson (host)unverifiedvery low

Aggregate data from Keeper AI indicates that women are 12 times more likely than men to refuse marrying down on income, 6 times more likely on intelligence, and 4 times more likely on education.

"asked if they'd marry down on three axes. Women say no far more than men every time. Earns less. Women are 12 more likely 12 times more likely to refuse. Less intelligent, six times more. Less educated, four times more. Marrying down is a near dealbreaker for women and a non-issue for men." (said at 1:11:57)

No published record matching the claim regarding aggregate survey data from Keeper AI (stating women are 12 times more likely than men to refuse marrying down on income, 6 times on intelligence, and 4 times on education) was located; this does not prove the claim false. The cited figures appear to derive from unpublished proprietary internal user metrics or marketing reports from a commercial matchmaking platform rather than peer-reviewed scholarly literature.

1:16:21Chris Williamson (host)unverifiedvery low

A dating app study found that facial attractiveness was 12 times more influential on user swiping behavior than height.

"facial attractiveness was 12 times more influential on swiping behavior than height is." (said at 1:16:21)

No published record matching the claim that facial attractiveness was 12 times more influential on dating app swiping behavior than height was located; this does not prove the claim false.

1:22:03Macken Murphyunverifiedvery low

David Buss's survey data shows that male and female mate preferences converged significantly across the 20th century, particularly following women's financial emancipation.

"throughout the 1900s, there's pretty good data from David Buss—it's hard to do it's hard to gather this survey data, but it does seem that over time throughout the 1900s um especially in the period after women's kind of financial emancipation, let's call it, uh mate preferences converged quite a bit between men and women." (said at 1:22:03)

No published record matching David Buss's survey data on 20th-century mate preference convergence following women's financial emancipation was located in the searched biomedical databases; this does not prove the claim false.

1:25:27Rob Hendersonunverifiedvery low

In the United States, upper-middle-class and college-educated fathers have significantly increased the time spent with their children compared to the past, while non-college fathers spend the same or slightly less time.

"I've read that this differs by socioeconomic status and education where educated upper middle class men are spending far more time with their children than fathers in the past. Whereas non-college men um are spending the same amount as uh decades past or even slightly less." (said at 1:25:27)

No published record matching the specific claim that college-educated fathers in the United States increased childcare time relative to the past while non-college-educated fathers spent the same or less time was located; this does not prove the claim false.

1:28:59Macken Murphyunverifiedvery low

A global study by Marta Kowal found that women engaged in more beautification behaviors than men in all but seven countries, with weightlifting being the primary behavior where men spent more time.

"that's what the best uh that's what the best study on beautification did. It's it's Marta Kowal's study. Um and she found that in all except for seven countries women beautified more. Uh there were there were seven that men beautified more um slightly. Um, and this was the weightlifting side of it essentially was what was was the behavior where men were" (said at 1:28:59)

No published PubMed record matching the specific claim regarding the global beautification study by Marta Kowal was located; this does not prove the claim false.

1:25:00Macken Murphyunverifiedvery low

A 2015 study by Norman Li found that when women possess their own financial resources, their mate preferences shift toward desiring partners who contribute more to domestic and child-rearing support.

"we see this even in um in Li's 2015 study, um where it does seem that when women have their own money, they recognize where it's like, 'Well, I have the financial thing kind of sorted. I really need like a helper at the nest a little bit more.'" (said at 1:25:00)

No published record matching the cited 2015 study by Norman Li regarding shifts in women's mate preferences toward domestic and child-rearing support when possessing personal financial resources was located in the fetched records; this does not prove the claim false.

1:56:15Macken Murphyunverifiedvery low

Standard evolutionary sex differences in mate preferences are found less consistently in small-scale hunter-gatherer societies than in industrialized populations.

"these sex differences and mate preferences are less consistently found in these small-scale hunter-gatherer societies and they're more consistently found in these industrialized populations." (said at 1:56:15)

No published record matching the claim that standard evolutionary sex differences in mate preferences are found less consistently in small-scale hunter-gatherer societies than in industrialized populations was located; this does not prove the claim false.

2:02:40Steve Stewart-Williamsunverifiedvery low

Analyses of folk tales and fairy stories across different world regions consistently show greater emphasis placed on women's physical appearance and on men's resources and status.

"if you look at um uh folk tales and fairy stories from right across the world, different world regions, you do find that very consistently that people put more importance on women's appearance than they do on men's and more importance on men's resources and status than they do on women's." (said at 2:02:40)

No published record matching the claim that analyses of folk tales across different world regions consistently show greater emphasis placed on women's physical appearance and on men's resources and status was located; this does not prove the claim false.

Unverified means no publication matching the claim was located; it does not prove the claim false. Spotted an error? See the corrections policy - disputes from the people quoted are prioritized.