Macken

Oxford grad studying mating. "Macken Murphy is able to condense vast chunks of information into engaging and digestible episodes." — The New York Times

[Macken @MackenMurphy]

Partner preferences for resources adapt to income and gender economic inequality.

When women make more money than men, the sexes are equally inclined towards hypergamy.

New from the Evolution Lab. (1/15)

[Macken @MackenMurphy]

https://t.co/Xsli6DDg8P

[Macken @MackenMurphy]

Men are more sexually jealous in cultures where paternal investment is higher.

Plain language: Men are more worried about cuckoldry in cultures where it would be costlier to be cuckolded.

Always remarkable, to me, how context-sensitive and adaptable our evolved psychology is.

[Macken @MackenMurphy]

Interesting, men who cheat in natural fertility populations usually do so before their primary partner has shown fertility. Maybe men's affairs serve partially as a fertility back-up plan.

[Macken @MackenMurphy]

Personal taste is real, and I'm sure that some women (especially outside of an American undergraduate context) prefer small muscles. However, it's remarkable how consistent this specific physical mate preference is, even in a relatively homogenous sample.

Study: https://t.co/s9gmREK4Hj

[Macken @MackenMurphy]

Do some women prefer men with small muscles?

In this study, no. Every single woman in their sample exhibited a preference for strong men.

[Macken @MackenMurphy]

Ever remarkable how little insight we have into our own facial attractiveness (or lack thereof).

[Macken @MackenMurphy]

@StefanFSchubert True. Take with a pebble of salt.

[Macken @MackenMurphy]

Psychologists put a pebble underneath one leg of participants' chairs so that they were physically unstable, and this elevated their *mate preference* for stability.

New dating tip for reliable individuals: Put a pebble underneath a leg of their chair.

[Macken @MackenMurphy]

@trippinreadyy Trustworthy, consistent.

[Macken @MackenMurphy]

https://t.co/O8RHdD4FDH

[Macken @MackenMurphy]

@FloKuehlwein Kay, 2025 https://t.co/MRS9o0M8ui

[Macken @MackenMurphy]

When asked if they are an LLM, 37% of MTurk participants in an online study said "yes," and 1.75% said "very large."

Delightful footnote.

[Macken @MackenMurphy]

@TMoldwin updated

[Toviah Moldwin @TMoldwin]

@MackenMurphy You buried the lede. "1.75% said "very large". ROFL

[Macken @MackenMurphy]

@TMoldwin It's just too good.

[Macken @MackenMurphy]

@Psikobilim_ No, don't apologize, it's my mistake; I didn't notice that it was translated from Turkish, and it was a bit of a pedantic note on my part anyway.

[Macken @MackenMurphy]

Why is "involuntarily" being thrown in here? It's intuitive and well-known that people adopt a more attractive posture when desirable mates are present, but it's hardly the patellar reflex.

[PsikoBilim @Psikobilim_]

Genç kadınlar çekici bir erkek tarafından izlendiklerinde bellerini istemsizce daha fazla kavisli hale getirme eğilimindeler.
Bu tepki özellikle kısa vadeli ilişkilere açık kadınlarda görülüyor.

[Macken @MackenMurphy]

@lilmanufacturer Good catch. 🤣

[Macken @MackenMurphy]

Interesting clip...
https://t.co/rR7BeuRZyu