Democracy, elections, and voting at Democracy Chronicles

A science journal has published its controversial research on the effect of hormones to voting choices of women. Researcher Kristina Durante is in news once more with the publication of her study “The Fluctuating Female Vote: Politics, Religion, and the Ovulatory Cycle” in Psychological Science. The study can be downloaded in its entirety here under “Selected Works.” Medicaldaily.com writes:

Durante surveyed several hundred women during last year’s U.S. presidential campaign, concluding that single women during ovulation “feel sexier” and tend to vote more liberal than women who are married or in committed relationships. Previous research shows a connection between a woman’s ovulatory cycle and her mating preferences, with ovulating women — in two large and diverse studies — ending to choose men for genetic rather than financial fitness. Building on that theory, Durante and her team suggested that political and religious orientation, often seen in presidential voting, would correlate to reproductive goals.

Unsurprisingly, when CNN first interviewed Durante in 2012, the station received an overwhelming amount of criticism from viewers who felt the story smacked of sexism. CNN was eventually forced to pull the segment. Psychological Science, however, stands by the research. Editor Eric Eich remarked in an official statement:

While we recognize that studies of gender and behavior are often controversial, we stand behind the integrity of this study and the journal. The research went through the regular peer-review process before it was accepted for publication.