Thread by @KhandisBlake

Now online and free of charge at #PNAS: results from a #worldwide #CitizenScience project on the #menstrual cycle "When fertile, women seek status via prestige but not dominance". (1/n) doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2…

Biological predictors of status are contested, partly because they have implications for sex differences & gender equality. Many investigations look at male status & testosterone (see work by Pranj Mehta, @nm_grebe, etc). Less is known about female status & other hormones (2/n)

My lab recruited women from 14 countries and 4 world regions to understand how the menstrual cycle and fertility affected status-seeking & self-esteem. Using an online daily diary in formR (created by @rubenarslan), participants tracked their menstrual cycle & psychology. (3/n)

Informed by work from @Joey_Cheng_, @ProfJessTracy , @JoHenrich I tracked status-seeking by measuring the motivation for prestige & dominance. I found that status-seeking via prestige but not dominance peaked when conception was most likely, as did two forms of self-esteem. (4/n)

I also found that women chose to lose more dominance contests when fertile, a strategy which may paradoxically sustain rather than diminish their social standing. (5/n)

Takeaway message: Fertility appears to reorient female psychology toward prestige-based strategies to success, enhancing women’s desire for social capital through influence and admiration, but not through fear, coercion, or intimidation. (6/n)

It helps to remember that people admire, watch & listen to prestigious individuals. To receive this attention in the fertile window when women feel attractive, competitive, & efficacious likely improves their ability to navigate social hierarchies & compete with others. (7/n)

These effects also are not found among hormonal contraceptive users, suggesting that hormonal contraceptives may blunt a natural peak in status-seeking during the fertile phase of the menstrual cycle. (8/n)

Thanks for reading! To find out more about our lab or the Daily Cycle Diary, visit go.unimelb.edu.au/7w4e. To read the paper, visit doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2…. Thanks to @Brooks_Rob, Steve Gangestad, @LindsieArthur, @rubenarslan, @PNASNews, & the Evolution Lab @Psychunimelb. (9/9)