Research Interests

My primary area of interest is evolutionary social psychology, with emphasis on intrasexual competition, consumer behavior, mating strategies, conflict between the sexes, and the physiological mechanisms involved in competitive behavior and mate choice.

For the past four years I have been conducting research that investigates changes in female behavior across the menstrual cycle. My colleagues and I track pituitary and ovarian hormone levels to determine a woman's fertile window and measure how decision-making behavior changes from non-fertile points in the cycle.

My research also investigates how changing environments can influence human decision-making. The evolved architecture of the human mind enables us to calculate current environmental conditions and adjust our behavior accordingly. My colleagues and I look at how variables such as age, resource availability, current social network and mate value can affect the choices we make.

My research is interdisciplinary in its design. Evolutionary psychology serves as the foundation and theory from economics, neuroscience and social psychology serve as the building blocks.