Evolutionary Psychology

A sweeping new study of world leaders spanning six decades finds that those with wider facial proportions are slightly more likely to initiate military action, particularly during their first few years in office.

Our assumptions about a man's parenting abilities might be written all over his face. New research reveals that men with wider facial proportions are instinctively stereotyped as highly motivated protectors of children, but less interested in nurturing.

People who consider themselves highly desirable romantic partners also tend to report higher overall self-worth. A recent meta-analysis of data from nearly 12,000 individuals confirmed a strong positive association between self-perceived mate value and global self-esteem.

Women identified more than 9,000 possible ways of preventing or responding to sexual violence, with the strategies they suggested varying according to who posed the threat and whether an assault had already occurred.

A new psychological study reveals that women's competitive reactions toward romantic and social rivals are driven by their baseline personality traits. Hormone fluctuations during the menstrual cycle did not predict how women responded to hypothetical threats.

For years, researchers believed a specific facial ratio signaled male aggression and dominance. A new evaluation overturns this idea, showing that facial proportions do not differ between sexes, but absolute facial width tells a different story.

People may be more willing to help strangers who seem agreeable and conscientious, partly because these traits make the person more likeable, according to research published in Evolutionary Psychological Science.

A new study reveals that women anticipate harsh social judgments for boasting and strategically use modesty to navigate relationships with other women. The findings shed light on the unseen hurdles women face when self-promoting in the workplace.

A new theoretical framework proposes that "survival of the wittiest" drove early human evolution. By developing clever language, early humans swapped physical violence for verbal competition, changing the trajectory of human cognitive and brain development.

While anthropologists frequently credit meat consumption for the development of large human brains, new dietary modeling indicates that carbohydrates from fruit and honey actually provided the essential glucose required for hominin cognitive evolution.

A new psychological study reveals that when heterosexual men are sexually aroused, they are more likely to ignore a woman’s facial expressions and incorrectly assume she is flirting based solely on her revealing clothing.

A new study reveals that people with psychopathic traits are much more likely to excuse blatant deceptions on dating apps, such as lying about relationship status, age, or even gender.

A study published in the Journal of Public Economics suggests that local dating markets shape pregnancy health. Having more available male partners is associated with stronger relationships, lower maternal infection rates, and healthier newborns.

Japanese men prefer a female body proportion that is exceptionally rare in real life. New research suggests that waist-to-bust ratio, rather than waist-to-hip ratio, drives attractiveness ratings, pointing to media influence over evolutionary biology.