This study examines three human facial variables to assess facial attractiveness: symmetry, sex-typicality, and distinctiveness. The goal is to understand whether perceived facial attractiveness might explain human mate choice. The authors use Bayesian multilevel regression analyses and 72 standardized frontal facial landmarks to explore the structural aspects of opposite-sex facial attractiveness preferences for both females and males. They used a sample of 1,550 faces from 10 countries. The results show that 1) distinctiveness is negatively correlated with attractiveness, 2) symmetry does not have a significant association with attractiveness, and 3) sex-typicality is positively correlated with female facial attractiveness but not the other way around. The authors also used a model with body height and BMI, but only some cases had enough information. Although with limitations, their results show that a lower BMI is associated with higher perceived female attractiveness. There is no significant association between BMI and perceived male attractiveness.

This study examines three human facial variables to assess facial attractiveness: symmetry, sex-typicality, and distinctiveness. The goal is to understand whether perceived facial attractiveness might explain human mate choice. The authors use Bayesian multilevel regression analyses and 72 standardized frontal facial landmarks to explore the structural aspects of opposite-sex facial attractiveness preferences for both females and males. They used a sample of 1,550 faces from 10 countries. The results show that 1) distinctiveness is negatively correlated with attractiveness, 2) symmetry does not have a significant association with attractiveness, and 3) sex-typicality is positively correlated with female facial attractiveness but not the other way around. The authors also used a model with body height and BMI, but only some cases had enough information. Although with limitations, their results show that a lower BMI is associated with higher perceived female attractiveness. There is no significant association between BMI and perceived male attractiveness.

The 'obstetrical dilemma' postulates that human females evolved a pelvis shape that was a compromise between the needs of bipedal locomotion and the need for a wider pelvic opening. The implication is that the female pelvis should be similar across the world. Researchers examine the size and shape of the birth canal of female individuals in the Goldman and Human Origin datasets. Contrary to the 'obstetrical dilemma,' the findings reveal that there is indeed significant geographical variation in size and shape of the female birth canal. Neutral evolutionary processes, particularly genetic drift, were suggested to be influential in female canal shape whereas the predicted effects of climate on canal diversity were only minimal.

The 'obstetrical dilemma' postulates that human females evolved a pelvis shape that was a compromise between the needs of bipedal locomotion and the need for a wider pelvic opening. The implication is that the female pelvis should be similar across the world. Researchers examine the size and shape of the birth canal of female individuals in the Goldman and Human Origin datasets. Contrary to the 'obstetrical dilemma,' the findings reveal that there is indeed significant geographical variation in size and shape of the female birth canal. Neutral evolutionary processes, particularly genetic drift, were suggested to be influential in female canal shape whereas the predicted effects of climate on canal diversity were only minimal.

This study utilizes Bayesian statistics to test the associations between harsh environments (specifically those with higher degrees of climate variability and relatively lower average temperature and precipitation) and alloparental care in societies throughout the world. Results support the hypothesis that societies in harsher environments show higher rates of alloparental care and that societies with higher rates of starvation and resource stress exhibit lower rates of alloparental care. The authors explain this theorizing that in the former relative costs are sufficiently outweighed by the benefits of this type of cooperation and in the latter they are not. They conclude that their results support the plasticity of human alloparenting as a response to varying ecology.

This study utilizes Bayesian statistics to test the associations between harsh environments (specifically those with higher degrees of climate variability and relatively lower average temperature and precipitation) and alloparental care in societies throughout the world. Results support the hypothesis that societies in harsher environments show higher rates of alloparental care and that societies with higher rates of starvation and resource stress exhibit lower rates of alloparental care. The authors explain this theorizing that in the former relative costs are sufficiently outweighed by the benefits of this type of cooperation and in the latter they are not. They conclude that their results support the plasticity of human alloparenting as a response to varying ecology.

The study explored the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on women's stressful experiences and future expectations, and whether it is associated with cultural femininity/masculinity. The study involved 1218 women from 15 countries, and the findings showed that women from masculine cultures more often expressed disorientation, while women from feminine cultures more often wrote about negative emotions. Additionally, women from masculine cultures had more future expectations regarding daily activities, while women from feminine cultures had more expectations regarding social activities, work and economic revival, and universal social issues. The pandemic seems to confront women in both types of culture with similar challenges. Overall, increased societal participation and responsibilities of women in feminine cultures were associated with negative affect during the pandemic, but they also propelled plentiful expectations for the future "after COVID-19".

Does a woman’s age predict her preferences for an ideal partner? Through a cross-cultural study of heterosexual women ages 18-67 from 147 countries, the authors of this article find that age has a negligible effect on a woman’s partner preferences in general. However, they do find some relationships between age and specific preferences, such as confidence-assertiveness, intention to be a parent, and the age range deemed acceptable for a partner.

The study proposes a Bayesian modeling framework to analyze and examine the mapping between emotions and speech prosody. The models are fitted to a large collection of emotional prosody recordings, and the study reveals that the mapping varies across corpora, individuals, cultures, and sexes. The study suggests that models accounting for mapping differences across these factors outperform models assuming a global mapping.

The 'obstetrical dilemma' postulates that human females evolved a pelvis shape that was a compromise between the needs of bipedal locomotion and the need for a wider pelvic opening. The implication is that the female pelvis should be similar across the world. Researchers examine the size and shape of the birth canal of female individuals in the Goldman and Human Origin datasets. Contrary to the 'obstetrical dilemma,' the findings reveal that there is indeed significant geographical variation in size and shape of the female birth canal. Neutral evolutionary processes, particularly genetic drift, were suggested to be influential in female canal shape whereas the predicted effects of climate on canal diversity were only minimal.