Date of Graduation

5-2023

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts in Psychology

Degree Level

Undergraduate

Department

Psychological Science

Advisor/Mentor

Makhanova, Anastasia

Abstract

Sociality (i.e., affiliative behavior) is a fundamental human motivation, and, while it has been extensively researched in the past, little research has examined how women’s menstrual cycle fluctuations may affect their sociality. Most studies examining women’s behavior across the menstrual cycle focus on mating. The few studies that have examined affiliation focused on general sociality ; however, sociality can be divided into multiple domains: romantic and platonic. Romantic sociality is defined through social interactions with a romantic partner, whereas platonic sociality describes interactions between family, friends, and potential new friends. The current study investigated the trends in women’s general, romantic, and platonic sociality across the menstrual cycle. For this study, 25 female participants wore Ava bracelets and took a 10-min daily survey every night, then synced the bracelet to the corresponding app the following morning. This was repeated for one full menstrual cycle. Results showed that women’s romantic sociality peaks during the ovulatory phase, but platonic sociality increases during the luteal phase only with respect to family. These findings suggest that women’s sociality is influenced by the menstrual cycle, and the use of general sociality may not yield the most accurate results in affiliative studies focusing on women.

Keywords

sociality; menstrual cycle; women

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