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Ovulation, Female Competition, and Product Choice: Hormonal Influences on Consumer Behavior

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  • Kristina M. Durante
  • Vladas Griskevicius
  • Sarah E. Hill
  • Carin Perilloux
  • Norman P. Li

Abstract

Recent research shows that women experience nonconscious shifts across different phases of the monthly ovulatory cycle. For example, women at peak fertility (near ovulation) are attracted to different kinds of men and show increased desire to attend social gatherings. Building on the evolutionary logic behind such effects, we examined how, why, and when hormonal fluctuations associated with ovulation influenced women's product choices. In three experiments, we show that at peak fertility women nonconsciously choose products that enhance appearance (e.g., choosing sexy rather than more conservative clothing). This hormonally regulated effect appears to be driven by a desire to outdo attractive rival women. Consequently, minimizing the salience of attractive women who are potential rivals suppresses the ovulatory effect on product choice. This research provides some of the first evidence of how, why, and when consumer behavior is influenced by hormonal factors.

Suggested Citation

  • Kristina M. Durante & Vladas Griskevicius & Sarah E. Hill & Carin Perilloux & Norman P. Li, 2011. "Ovulation, Female Competition, and Product Choice: Hormonal Influences on Consumer Behavior," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 37(6), pages 921-934.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:jconrs:doi:10.1086/656575
    DOI: 10.1086/656575
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    Cited by:

    1. Mihai Mutascu & Aurora Murgea, 2017. "Globalization and financial performances in French cosmetic industry," Working Papers halshs-01504099, HAL.
    2. Stephanie C Lazzaro & Robb B Rutledge & Daniel R Burghart & Paul W Glimcher, 2016. "The Impact of Menstrual Cycle Phase on Economic Choice and Rationality," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 11(1), pages 1-15, January.
    3. Butori, Raphaëlle & Parguel, Béatrice, 2014. "The impact of visual exposure to a physically attractive other on self-presentation," International Journal of Research in Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 31(4), pages 445-447.
    4. Siapka, Anastasia & Biasin, Elisabetta, 2021. "Bleeding data: The case of fertility and menstruation tracking apps," Internet Policy Review: Journal on Internet Regulation, Alexander von Humboldt Institute for Internet and Society (HIIG), Berlin, vol. 10(4), pages 1-34.
    5. repec:dau:papers:123456789/14238 is not listed on IDEAS
    6. Stenstrom, Eric P. & Saad, Gad & Hingston, Sean T., 2018. "Menstrual cycle effects on prosocial orientation, gift giving, and charitable giving," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 84(C), pages 82-88.
    7. Gurzki, Hannes & Woisetschläger, David M., 2017. "Mapping the luxury research landscape: A bibliometric citation analysis," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 77(C), pages 147-166.
    8. Jasmijn C. Bol & Justin Leiby, 2022. "Status motives and agent-to-agent information sharing," Review of Accounting Studies, Springer, vol. 27(1), pages 122-147, March.
    9. Paola Iannello & Daniela Villani & Gaia Bruschi, 2016. "A preliminary investigation about the relationship between well-being and fertility status in different menstrual cycle phases," Mind & Society: Cognitive Studies in Economics and Social Sciences, Springer;Fondazione Rosselli, vol. 15(2), pages 195-205, November.
    10. Steven J. Stanton & Walter Sinnott-Armstrong & Scott A. Huettel, 2017. "Neuromarketing: Ethical Implications of its Use and Potential Misuse," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 144(4), pages 799-811, September.
    11. Aspara, Jaakko & Van Den Bergh, Bram, 2014. "Naturally designed for masculinity vs. femininity? Prenatal testosterone predicts male consumers' choices of gender-imaged products," International Journal of Research in Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 31(1), pages 117-121.
    12. Raphaëlle Butori & Béatrice Parguel, 2014. "The impact of visual exposure to a physically attractive other on self-presentation," Post-Print hal-01644789, HAL.
    13. Chen, Rui & Liu, Maggie Wenjing & Guan, Yuhong & Zheng, Yuhuang, 2020. "Female responses to genetically modified foods: Effects of the menstrual cycle and food risk concerns," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 120(C), pages 608-618.
    14. Durante, Kristina M. & Griskevicius, Vladas & Ulu, Sevincgul (Sev), 2020. "The effect of fertility on loss aversion," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 120(C), pages 599-607.
    15. Jin-Ying Zhuang & Jia-Xi Wang, 2014. "Women Ornament Themselves for Intrasexual Competition near Ovulation, but for Intersexual Attraction in Luteal Phase," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 9(9), pages 1-10, September.
    16. Hand, Chris, 2020. "Biology and being green: The effect of prenatal testosterone exposure on pro-environmental consumption behaviour," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 120(C), pages 619-626.

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