Martie Haselton

Professor
Ph.D.: University of Texas at Austin
Primary Area: Social Psychology
Address: 2325 Rolfe Hall
Phone: (310) 206-7445
Email: haselton@ucla.edu

Research and Teaching Interests:

Evolution and human behavior, interpersonal communication, social psychology, social endocrinology. Empirical work explores cognitive bias in communication, intimate relationships, sexuality, and the effects of reproductive hormones on human behavior.

For more information about Professor Haselton and more frequently updated information about her lab, go to: martiehaselton.com

Representative Publications:

Dinh, T., Haselton, M. G., & Gangestad, S. W. (in press). “Fast” women? The effects of childhood environments on women’s developmental timing, mating strategies, and reproductive outcomes. Evolution and Human Behavior.

Gangestad, S. W., Dinh, T., Lesko, L. M. & Haselton, M. G. (in press). Understanding women’s estrus and extended sexuality: The dual sexuality framework. In D. M. Buss & P. Durkee (Eds.) Handbook of Human Mating. Oxford University Press.

Parker, G., Durante, K.M., Hill, S.E., & Haselton, M.G. (2022). Why women choose divorce: An evolutionary perspective. Current Opinion in Psychology, 43, 300-306. DOI: 10.1016/j.copsyc.2021.07.020.

Dinh, T., Gangestad, S.W., Thompson, M.E., Toniyama, A.J., Fessler, D. M. T., Robertson, T.E., & Haselton, M.G. (2021). Endocrinological effects of social exclusion and inclusion: Experimental evidence for adaptive regulation of female fecundity. Hormones and Behavior, 130, 104934. DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2021.104934.

Krems, J. A., Claessens, S. Fales, M. R., Campenni, M., Haselton, M. G., & Aktipis, A., (2021). An agent-based model of the female rivalry hypothesis for concealed ovulation in humans. Nature Human Behaviour, 5 (6) 726-735. DOI: 10.1038/s41562-020-01038-9.

Rosenfeld, D. L., Balcetis, E., Bastian, B., Berkman, E., Bosson, J., Brannon, T., … Tomiyama, A. J. 2021). Psychological science in the wake of COVID-19: Social, methodological, and metascientific considerations. Perspectives in Psychological Science. 1-23. DOI: 10.1177/1745691621999374.

Seitz, B. M., Aktipis^, A, Buss, D. M., Alcock, J., Bloom, P., Gelfand, M., Harris, S., Lieberman, D. L., Natterson-Horowitz, B., Pinker, S., Wilson, D.S., & Haselton, M. G. (2020). The pandemic exposes human nature: 10 evolutionary insights. Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, 117 (45) 27767-27776. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2009787117.

Boudesseul, J., Gildersleeve, K. A., Haselton, M. G., Bègue, L. (2019). Do women expose themselves to more health-related risks in certain phases of the menstrual cycle? A meta-analytic review. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 107, 505-524. DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2019.08.016.

Murray, D. R., Haselton, M.G., Fales, M. & Cole, S. W. (2019). Subjective social status and inflammatory gene expression. Health Psychology 38 (2) 182-186. DOI: 10.1037/hea0000705.

Murray, D. R., Haselton, M. G., Fales, M. Cole, S. W. (2019). Falling in love is associated with immune system gene regulation, Psychoneuroendocrinology, 100, 120-126. DOI: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2018.09.043.

Pinsof, D. & Haselton, M. G., (2017). When self-interest contradicts ideology: A reply to Hoffarth and Jost (2017). Psychological Science, 28 (10) 1525-1527. DOI: 10.1177/0956797617723725.

Dinh, T., Pinsof, D., Gangestad, S. W., Haselton, M. G. (2017). Cycling on the fast track: Ovulatory shifts in sexual motivation as a proximate mechanism for regulating life history strategies. Evolution and Human Behavior, 38 (6) 685–694. DOI: 10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2017.09.001.

Pinsof, D. & Haselton, M. G. (2017). The effect of the promiscuity stereotype on opposition to gay rights. PLoS ONE, 12 (7), e0178534. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0178534.

Ahlstrom, B., Dinh, T., Haselton, M. G., & Tomiyama, A. J. (2017). Understanding eating interventions through an evolutionary lens. Health Psychology Review, 11 (1), 72-88. DOI: 10.1080/17437199.2016.1260489.

Gildersleeve, K. A., Fales, M. R. & Haselton, M. G. (2017). Women’s evaluations of other women’s body odor depend on targets’ fertility. Evolution and Human Behavior, 38 (2), 155-163. DOI: 10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2016.08.003.

Murray, D., Gildersleeve, K. A., & Haselton, M. G. (2017). MHC Homozygosity is associated with “fast” sexual strategies in women. Adaptive Human Behavior and Physiology, 3 (2), 101-117. DOI: 10.1007/s40750-016-0057-5.

Murray, D., Murphy, S. C., von Hippel, W., Trivers, R., &, Haselton, M. G. (2017). A preregistered study of competing predictions suggests that men do overestimate women’s sexual intent. Psychological Science, 28 (2), 253-255. DOI: 10.1177/0956797616675474.

Saphire-Bernstein, S., Larson, C. M., Gildersleeve, K., Pillsworth, E. G., Fales, M. R., & Haselton, M. G. (2016). Genetic compatibility in long-term intimate relationships: partner similarity at major histocompatibility complex (MHC) genes may reduce in-pair attraction. Evolution and Human Behavior, 38 (2), 190-196. DOI: 10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2016.09.003.

Pang, R. D., Bello M S., Stone, M. D., Kirkpatrick, M. G., Huh, J., Monterosso, J., Haselton, M. G., Fales, M. R., & Leventhal A.M. (2016). Premenstrual symptoms and smoking-related expectancies. Addictive Behaviors, 57, 38-41. DOI: 10.1016/j.addbeh.2016.01.015.

Pinsof, D. & Haselton, M. G. (2016). The political divide over same-sex marriage: Mating strategies in conflict? Psychological Science, 27 (4) 435-442. DOI: 10.1177/0956797615621719.

Haselton, M. G. & Gildersleeve, K. (2016). Human ovulation cues. Current Opinion in Psychology. 7, 120–125. DOI: 10.1016/j.copsyc.2015.08.020.

Gangestad, S. W., Haselton, M. G., Welling, L. M., Gildersleeve, K., Pillsworth, E. G., Burriss, R. Larson, C. M, & Puts, D. M. (2016). How valid are assessments of conception probability in ovulatory cycle research? Evaluations, recommended, and theoretical implications. Evolution and Human Behavior, 37 (2), 85–96. DOI: 10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2015.09.001.

Haselton, M. G. (2015). Comment on Havlicek et al. (2015): Is their perspective really new (or truly parsimonious)? Behavioral Ecology. Advance Online Publication. DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arv116.

Haselton, M. G., Nettle, D. & Murray, D. R. (2015). The evolution of cognitive bias. In The Handbook of Evolutionary Psychology, In D. M. Buss (Ed.), 2^nd Edition. Hoboken: Wiley. (pp. 968-987). DOI: 10.1002/9781119125563.evpsych241.

Gangestad, S. W. & Haselton, M. G. (2015). Human estrus: Implications for relationship science. (J. Simpson & E. Finkel, Eds.) Inaugural Special Issue on Relationship Science, Current Opinion in Psychology, 1, 45-51. DOI: 10.1016/j.copsyc.2014.12.007.

Hahn-Holbrook, J. & Haselton, M. G. (2014). Is postpartum depression a disease of modern civilization? Current Directions in Psychological Science, 23 (6), 395-400. DOI: 10.1177/0963721414547736.

Gildersleeve, K., Haselton, M. G., & Fales, M. R. (2014). Meta-analysis and p-curves support robust shifts in women’s mate preferences: Response to Wood and Carden (2014) and Harris, Pashler, & Mickes (2014). Psychological Bulletin, 140 (5), 1272-1280. DOI: doi.org/10.1037/a0037714.

Gildersleeve, K., Haselton, M. G., & Fales, M. R. (2014). Do women’s mate preferences change across the ovulatory cycle? A meta-analytic review. Psychological Bulletin, 140 (5), 1205-1259. DOI: doi.org/10.1037/a0035438. (Awarded the 2013 Hal Kelley Award for best research paper in social psychology at UCLA and Awarded the 2013 New Investigator Award from the Human Behavior and Evolution Society)

Lukaszewski, A. W., Larson, C. M., Gildersleeve, K. A. Roney, J. R., & Haselton, M. G. (2014). Condition-dependent calibration of men’s uncommitted mating orientation: evidence from multiple samples. Evolution & Human Behavior, 35 (4), 319 – 326. DOI: 10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2014.03.002.

Fales, M. R. Gildersleeve. K. A., & Haselton, M. G. (2014). Exposure to perceived male rivals raises men’s testosterone on fertile relative to nonfertile days of their partner’s ovulatory cycle. Hormones and Behavior, 65 (5), 454–460. DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2014.04.002.

Holbrook, C., Galperin, A., Fessler, D. M. T., Johnson, K. L., Bryant, G. A., Haselton, M. G. (2014). If looks could kill: Anger attributions are informed by affordances for doing harm. Emotion, 14 (3), 455-461. DOI: 10.1037/a0035826.

Galperin, A., Fessler, D. M. T., Johnson, K. L., & Haselton, M. G. (2013). Seeing storms behind the clouds: Biases in the attribution of anger. Evolution & Human Behavior, 34 (5), 358-365. DOI: 10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2013.06.003.

Galperin, A., Haselton, M. G., Frederick, D. A., Poore, J., von Hippel, W., Gonzaga, G., & Buss, D. M. (2013). Sexual regret: Evidence for evolved sex differences. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 42 (7), 1145-1161. DOI: 10.1007/s15008-012-0019-3

Gilderleeve, K. L., DeBruine, L. Haselton, M. G., Frederick, D. A., Penton-Voak, I. S., Jones, B. C., & Perrett, D. I., (2013). Shifts in women’s mate preferences across the ovulatory cycle: A critique of Harris (2011) and Harris (2012), Sex Roles, 69 (9-10), 516-524. DOI: 1007/s11199-013-0273-4.

Hahn-Holbrook, J., Haselton, M. G., Dunkel Schetter, C., & Glynn, L. (2013). Does breastfeeding offer protection against maternal depressive symptomatology? A prospective study from pregnancy to 2 years after birth. Archives of Women’s Mental Health, 16 (5), 411-422. DOI: 10.1007/s00737-013-0348-9.

Hahn-Holbrook, J., Dunkel Schetter, C., & Haselton, M. G. (2013). Breastfeeding and maternal mental and physical health. In M. Spiers, P. Geller, & J. Kloss (Eds). Women’s Health Psychology. New Jersey: Wiley. (pp. 414-439).

Haselton, M. G. & Galperin, A. (2013). Error management in relationships. In J. A. Simpson & L. Campbell (Eds.). Handbook of Close Relationships. Oxford University Press. (pp. 234-254).

Johnson, D. D. P., Blumstein, D. T., Fowler, J. H., & Haselton, M. G. (2013). The evolution of error: Error management, cognitive constraints, and adaptive decision-making biases. Trends in Ecology and Evolution, 28 (8), 474-481. DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2013.05.014.

Larson, C. M., Haselton, M. G., Pillsworth, E. G., & Gildersleeve, K. (2013). Changes in women’s feelings about their romantic relationships across the ovulatory cycle. Hormones and Behavior, 63 (1), 128-135. DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2012.10.005. (Awarded the Elizabeth Blackwell Award for best student paper, UCLA Center for the Study of Women.)

Galperin, A. & Haselton, M. G. (2012). Error management and the evolution of cognitive bias. In J. P. Forgas, K. Fiedler, & C. Sedikedes (Eds.), Social Thinking and Interpersonal Behavior, 63. (pp. 45-64). New York: Psychology Press.

Gildersleeve, K., Haselton, M. G., Larson, C., & Pillsworth, E. G. (2012). Body odor attractiveness as a cue of impending ovulation in women: Evidence from a study using hormone-confirmed ovulation. Hormones and Behavior, 61 (2), 157-166. DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2011.11.005.

Larson, C., Pillsworth, E. G., & Haselton, M. G. (2012). Ovulatory shifts in women’s attractions to primary partners and other men: Further evidence of the importance of primary partner sexual attractiveness. PLoS one, 7 (9), e44456. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0044456. [Note: all authors contributed equally to this work.]

Hahn-Holbrook, J., Holbrook, C., & Haselton, M. G. (2011). Parental precaution: Neurobiological means and adaptive ends. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, 35 (4), 1052-1066. DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2010.09.015.

Haselton, M. G. & Gildersleeve, K. (2011). Can men detect ovulation? Current Directions in Psychological Science, 20 (2), 87-92. DOI: 10.1177/0963721411402668.

Lieberman, D., Pillsworth, E. G., & Haselton, M. G. (2011). Kin affiliation across the ovulatory cycle: Females avoid fathers when fertile. Psychological Science, 22 (1) , 13-18. DOI: 10.1177/0956797610390385. [Note: all authors contributed equally to this work.]

DeBruine, L., Jones, B. C., Frederick, D.A., Haselton, M.G., Penton-Voak, I., & Perrett, D. A. (2010). Evidence for menstrual cycle shifts in women’s preferences for masculinity: A response to Harris (in press) “Menstrual Cycle and Facial Preferences Reconsidered.” Evolutionary Psychology, 8 (4), 768-775. DOI: 10.1177/147470491000800416.

Galperin, A. & Haselton, M. G. (2010). Predictors of how often and when people fall in love. Evolutionary Psychology, 8 (1), 5-28. DOI: 10.1177/147470491000800102.

Bryant, G. A. & Haselton, M. G. (2009). Vocal cues of ovulation in human females. Biology Letters, 5 (1), 12-15. DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2008.0507. [Note: both authors contributed equally to this work.]

Haselton, M. G., Bryant, G. A., Wilke, A. Frederick, D. A., Galperin, A. Frankenhuis, W., & Moore, T. (2009).  Adaptive rationality: An evolutionary perspective on cognitive bias. Social Cognition, 27 (5), 733–763. DOI: 10.1521/soco.2009.27.5.733.

Haselton, M. G. & Buss, D. M. (2009). Error management theory and the evolution of misbeliefs. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 32 (6), 522-523. DOI: 10.1017/S0140525X09991440.

Lieberman, D. L., Haselton, M. G., & von Hippel, W. (2009). Kin selection. In H. Reis & S. Sprecher (Eds.), Encyclopedia of Human Relationships: Vol. 2 (pp. 954-957). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Andrews, P. W., Gangestad, S. W., Miller, G. F., Haselton, M. G., Thornhill, R., & Neale, M. C. (2008). Sex differences in detecting sexual infidelity: Results of a maximum likelihood method for analyzing the sensitivity of sex differences to underreporting. Human Nature, 19 (4), 347-373. DOI: 10.1007/s12110-008-9051-3.

Durante, K. M., Li, N. P., & Haselton, M. G. (2008). Changes in women’s choice of dress across the ovulatory cycle: Naturalistic and laboratory task-based evidence. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 34 (11), 1451-1460. DOI: 10.1177/0146167208323103.

Gonzaga, G. & Haselton, M. G. (2008).  The evolution of love and long-term bonds. In J. P. Forgas & J. Fitness (Eds). Social Relationships: Cognitive, Affective, and Motivational Processes, 10. (pp. 39-54). New York: Psychology Press.

Gonzaga, G., Haselton, M. G., Smurda, J., Davies, M. S., & Poore, J. C. (2008). Love, desire, and the suppression of thoughts of romantic alternatives. Evolution and Human Behavior, 29 (2), 119-126. DOI: 10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2007.11.003.

Frederick, D. A. & Haselton, M. G. (2007). Why is muscularity sexy? Tests of the fitness-indicator hypothesis. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 33 (8), 1167-1183. DOI: 10.1177/0146167207303022. (Awarded the 2012 Harold H. Kelly Award for best student paper in social psychology at UCLA.)

Frederick, D.A., Buchanan, G.M., Sadeghi-Azar, L., Peplau, L.A., Haselton, M.G., Berezovskaya, A., & Lipinski, R.E. (2007). Desiring the muscular ideal:  Men’s body satisfaction in the United States, Ukraine, and Ghana. Psychology of Men and Masculinity, 8 (2), 103-107.

Haselton, M. G. (2007). Error management theory. In R. F. Baumeister & K. D. Vohs (Eds.), Encyclopedia of Social Psychology (Vol. 1, pp. 311-312). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Haselton, M. G., Mortezaie, M., Pillsworth, E. G., Bleske-Recheck, A. E., & Frederick, D. A. (2007). Ovulatory shifts in human female ornamentation: Near ovulation, women dress to impress. Hormones and Behavior, 51 (1), 40-45. DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2006.07.007.

von Hippel W. & Haselton, M. G. (2007).  Kin selection. In R. F. Baumeister & K. D. Vohs (Eds.), Encyclopedia of Social Psychology (Vol. 2, p. 519). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

von Hippel, W., Haselton, M. G., & Forgas, J. P. (2007). Evolutionary psychology and social thinking: History, issues, and prospects. In J. P. Forgas, M. G. Haselton, & W. von Hippel (Eds.) Evolution and the Social Mind: Evolutionary Psychology and Social Cognition (pp. 1-17).  New York: Psychology Press.

Barrett, H. C., Frederick, D. A., Haselton, M. G., & Kurzban, R. C. (2006). Can manipulations of cognitive load be used to test evolutionary hypotheses? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 91 (3), 513-518. DOI: 10.1037/0022-3514.91.3.513.

Gangestad, S. W., Haselton, M. G., & Buss, D. M. (2006). Evolutionary foundations of cultural variation: Evoked culture and mate preferences. Psychological Inquiry, 17 (2), 75-95. DOI: 10.1207/s15327965pli1702_1.

Gangestad, S. W., Haselton, M. G., & Buss, D. M. (2006). Authors’ Response: Toward an integrative understanding of evoked and transmitted culture: The importance of specialized psychological design. Psychological Inquiry, 17 (2), 138-151. DOI: 10.1207/s15327965pli1702_3.

Haselton, M. G. & Funder, D. (2006). The evolution of accuracy and bias in social judgment. In M. Schaller, D. T. Kenrick, & J. A. Simpson (Eds.), Evolution and Social Psychology (pp. 15-37). New York: Psychology Press.

Haselton, M. G., & Gangestad, S. W. (2006). Conditional expression of women’s desires and men’s mate guarding across the ovulatory cycle. Hormones and Behavior, 49 (4), 509-518. DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2005.10.006.

Haselton, M. G. & Ketelaar, T. (2006). Irrational emotions or emotional wisdom? The evolutionary psychology of emotions and behavior. In J. P. Forgas, Hearts and minds: Affective influences on social cognition and behavior, 8 (pp. 21-40). New York: Psychology Press.

Haselton, M. G. & Miller, G. F. (2006). Women’s fertility across the cycle increases the short-term attractiveness of creative intelligence. Human Nature, 17 (1), 50-73. DOI: 10.1007/s12110-006-1020-0.

Haselton, M. G. & Nettle, D. (2006). The paranoid optimist: An integrative evolutionary model of cognitive biases. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 10, 47-66.

Kurzban, R. & Haselton, M. G. (2006). Making hay out of straw: Real and imagined controversies in evolutionary psychology. In J. Barkow (Ed.), Missing the revolution: Evolutionary perspectives on culture and society (pp. 149-161). New York: Oxford University Press.

Pillsworth, E. G. & Haselton, M. G. (2006). Women’s sexual strategies: The evolution of long-term bonds and extra-pair sex. Annual Review of Sex Research, 17 (1), 59-100. DOI: 10.1080/10532528.2006.10559837.

Pillsworth, E. G. & Haselton, M. G. (2006). Male sexual attractiveness predicts differential ovulatory shifts in female extra-pair attraction and male mate retention. Evolution and Human Behavior, 27, 4, 247-258. DOI: 10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2005.10.002.

Buss, D. M. & Haselton, M. G. (2005). The evolution of jealousy: A response to Buller. Trends in Cognitive Science, 9 (11), 506-507. DOI: 10.1016/S0092-6566(02)00529-9.

Frederick, D. A., Fessler, D. M. T., & Haselton, M. G. (2005). Do representations of male muscularity differ in men’s and women’s magazines? Body Image, 2 (1), 81-86. DOI: 10.1016/j.bodyim.2004.12.002.

Haselton, M. G., Buss, D. M., Oubaid, V., & Angleitner, A. (2005). Sex, lies, and strategic interference: The psychology of deception between the sexes. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 31 (1), 3-23. DOI: 10.1177/0146167204271303.

Haselton, M. G., Nettle, D., & Andrews, P.W. (2005). The evolution of cognitive bias. In D. M. Buss (Ed.), The evolutionary psychology handbook (pp. 724-746). Hoboken: Wiley.

Pillsworth, E. G. & Haselton, M. G. (2005). The evolution of coupling. Psychological Inquiry, 16 (2/3), 98-104. http://www.jstor.org/stable/20447269.

Pillsworth, E. G., Haselton, M. G., & Buss, D. M. (2004). Ovulatory shifts in female sexual desire. Journal of Sex Research, 41 (1), 55-65. DOI: 10.1080/00224490409552213. (Awarded the Elizabeth Blackwell award for best student paper, UCLA Center for the Study of Women.)

Haselton, M. G.  (2003). The sexual overperception bias: Evidence of a systematic bias in men from a survey of naturally occurring events. Journal of Research in Personality, 37 (1), 43-47. DOI: 10.1016/S0092-6566(02)00529-9.

Reprinted in D. C. Funder & D. J. Ozer (2004). Pieces of the personality puzzle (pp. 183-191). New York: Norton.

Haselton, M. G. & Buss, D. M. (2003). Errors in design or by design? An evolutionary perspective on biases in social judgment and decision making. In J. Forgas, K. Williams, & B. von Hippel (Eds.) Responding to the social world: Implicit and explicit processes in social judgments and decisions (pp. 23-43). New York: Cambridge University Press.

Haselton, M. G. & Buss, D. M. (2001). The affective shift hypothesis: The functions of emotional changes. Personal Relationships, 8, 357-369.

DeKay, W.T., Haselton, M. G., & Kirkpatrick, L. A. (2000). Reversing figure and ground in the rationality debate.: An evolutionary perspective. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 23 (5), 670-671. DOI: 10.1017/S0140525X00273433.

Haselton M. G. & Buss, D. M. (2000). Error management theory: A new perspective on biases in cross-sex mind reading. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 78 (1), 81-91. DOI: 10.1037/0022-3514.78.1.81.

Reprinted in D. Kenrick & C. Luce (2004). The functional mind: Readings in evolutionary psychology (pp. 110-129). Needham Heights: Allyn & Bacon.

Buss, D. M., Haselton, M. G., Shackelford, T. K., Bleske, A. L., & Wakefield, J. (1999). Interactionism, flexibility, and inferences about the past. American Psychologist, 54 (6), 443-445. DOI: 10.1037/0003-066X.54.6.443.

Reprinted in D. J. Levitin (2003), Foundations of cognitive psychology: Core readings (pp. 639-634). Cambridge: MIT Press.

Buss, D. M., Haselton, M. G., Shackelford, T. K., Bleske, A. L., & Wakefield, J. (1998). Adaptations, exaptations, and spandrels. American Psychologist, 53 (5), 533-548.

Derks, P. L., Staley, R. E., & Haselton, M. G. (1998). “Sense” of humor: Perception, intelligence, or expertise? In W. Ruch (Ed.), “Sense of humor”: Explorations of a personality characteristic. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.