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Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin
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Do Women Feel Worse to Look Their Best? Testing the Relationship Between Self-Esteem and Fertility Status Across the Menstrual Cycle

Sarah E. Hill

Texas Christian University, s.e.hill{at}tcu.edu

Kristina M. Durante

University of Texas, Austin

Two studies measured self-esteem across the menstrual cycle to test the prediction that self-esteem will vary interindividually as a positive function of mate value and intraindividually as a negative function of fertility status. Study 1 (n = 52) found that self-esteem was positively related to mate value between women but that women experienced a self-esteem decrease nearest to ovulation, when women tend to be more attractive to men. Study 2 (n = 59) replicated these results and demonstrated that the self-esteem decrease at high fertility was positively related to women’s reported long-term mating motivation. Additionally, the magnitude of the self-esteem decrease at high fertility was found to be related to increased willingness to spend money on items to enhance attractiveness at high fertility. A self-esteem decrease at high fertility may motivate mate value enhancement efforts when such efforts are most critical.

Key Words: self-esteem • ovulation • mate value • fertility • evolution

This version was published on December 1, 2009

Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, Vol. 35, No. 12, 1592-1601 (2009)
DOI: 10.1177/0146167209346303
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