HoldsUp

Macken Murphy

University of Melbourne

Macken Murphy is an evolutionary biologist, writer, and podcaster associated with the University of Melbourne. His published research focuses on partner preferences regarding resources and economic inequality, lay evolutionary hypotheses within the manosphere, and incels' attitudes and experiences surrounding psychotherapy and mental health interventions.

21 claims checked on air: 1 context 2 contradicted 10 supported 8 unverified

What they said on air

0:08:30unverifiedvery lowThe New Science Of Female Attraction - Psychology Roundtable

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.

0:32:00supportedmoderateThe New Science Of Female Attraction - Psychology Roundtable

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.

0:35:53supportedmoderateThe New Science Of Female Attraction - Psychology Roundtable

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.

0:37:20unverifiedvery lowThe New Science Of Female Attraction - Psychology Roundtable

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.

0:45:12supportedmoderateThe New Science Of Female Attraction - Psychology Roundtable

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.

0:48:14supportedhighThe New Science Of Female Attraction - Psychology Roundtable

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.

0:49:40supportedmoderateThe New Science Of Female Attraction - Psychology Roundtable

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.

0:51:10supportedmoderateThe New Science Of Female Attraction - Psychology Roundtable

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.

0:58:16supportedlowThe New Science Of Female Attraction - Psychology Roundtable

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.

1:03:24unverifiedvery lowThe New Science Of Female Attraction - Psychology Roundtable

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.

1:05:43supportedmoderateThe New Science Of Female Attraction - Psychology Roundtable

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.

1:07:46unverifiedlowThe New Science Of Female Attraction - Psychology Roundtable

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.

1:09:44contradictedhighThe New Science Of Female Attraction - Psychology Roundtable

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.

1:22:03unverifiedvery lowThe New Science Of Female Attraction - Psychology Roundtable

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.

1:22:54supportedmoderateThe New Science Of Female Attraction - Psychology Roundtable

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.

1:22:55needs contextlowThe New Science Of Female Attraction - Psychology Roundtable

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.

1:25:00unverifiedvery lowThe New Science Of Female Attraction - Psychology Roundtable

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.

1:25:22contradictedmoderateThe New Science Of Female Attraction - Psychology Roundtable

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).

1:28:59unverifiedvery lowThe New Science Of Female Attraction - Psychology Roundtable

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.

1:29:23supportedlowThe New Science Of Female Attraction - Psychology Roundtable

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.

1:56:15unverifiedvery lowThe New Science Of Female Attraction - Psychology Roundtable

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.

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