Results

602 responses were gathered. To be included in analysis, each response had to meet several criteria. Participants must: report no use of hormonal contraceptives within 3 months, report a regular menstrual cycle classify their sexual orientation as heterosexual or bisexual complete all questions pass the manipulation check (remembered whether they were asked to think of long-term or short-term relationships when deciding on preferences) be 35 years old or younger.

In order to establish current fertility, we counted the days since the date of the participants last period. This number would be the estimation of which day in menses the participant was on at the time of completing the experiment. Days 0-5 and 15-28 were coded as low-risk for fertility, and days 6-14 were coded as high-risk. If the day of menses was over 28, participants were eliminated on the grounds of an abnormal menstrual cycle. After eliminations had taken place, 112 data points remained to be included in the analyses. To test the validity of this research, a simple one-way ANOVA was run to compare explicit and implicit preferences for beards (as seen in figure 1). This interaction was significant (p<.001) and therefore we concluded that the experimental design was a valid measure of beard preference.
0.8

Mean proportion of beard preference

0.7 0.6 0.5 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.1 0 "I like it." "I don't like it." "It depends on the face and/or style."

Figure 1: A chart showing preferences for bearded faces compared to explicit attitudes towards facial hair.

For the main analysis, a two-way between-subjects ANOVA was conducted to investigate the effects of fertility and manipulation group (long-term vs. short-term) on beard preferences. No significant interaction was found, F (1,93) = 0.078, p=.781, and the main experimental hypothesis was not supported. To explore our second hypothesis, another two-way ANOVA was performed, this time investigating the effects of relationship status and manipulation group on beard preferences. A significant interaction was found between the effects of relationship status and manipulation group on beard preference, F (1, 108) = 4.49, p =.037. To further explore this relationship, a simple effects analysis was conducted and it was found that women already in a relationship show a significant preference for beards when asked to consider their judgements in the context of a short-term relationship (p=.036), as seen in figure 2. No other comparisons showed significance; therefore, single women dont show this preference.
Single 0.7 Mean proportion of beard preference In Relationship

0.6

0.5

0.4 Short term Long term

Figure 2: A chart showing preferences for bearded faces as a function of relationship status and judgement context.