engleski

Hormones and fashion: Choice of apparel and colour during the menstrual cycle

Evolutionary theory predicts ovulatory shifts in women's behaviour which has been partly supported by empirical research (Gildersleeve, Haselton, & Fales, 2014 ; Wood, Kressel, Joshi, & Louie, 2014). Tracy and Beal (2014 ; Beal & Tracy, 2013) have shown women at peak fertility are more prone to wearing red or pink clothes when alternative options for signalling fertility or increasing attractiveness are not viable. The research presented here tests this prediction in a different season (summer vs. winter) using a different methodology for measuring colour and establishing menstrual cycle phase, as well as using a repeated measures design. Young women (N = 19) chose the clothes and their colour via a computer program consisting of a female figure and clothing components during the ovulatory and during the menstrual phase of the cycle. Results suggest that wearing revealing clothes is a method of choice during warmer weather, as well as certain trends in choice of colour. Finally, the significance of this research for the ovulatory shift hypothesis and specific methodological issues of measuring colours and menstrual cycle phases will be emphasized and discussed in this presentation.

clothing; colour; menstrual cycle; ovulatory shift

nije evidentirano