Basia Borkowska

University of Wroclaw | WROC · Katedra Biologii Człowieka

Previous studies have shown that women perceive male faces with a more reactive immune system as more attractive, but whether body odor might likewise provide cues to immune function has not been investigated yet. These two studies tested a possible relationship between body odor quality and immunoreactivity (Study 1) and immune system function (St...

The different environmental conditions in which people live might challenge memory in different ways. Moreover, the frequency of usage can be a source of improvement of both short- and long-term memory. The aim of our study was to investigate the effects of environmental differences on short- and long-term memory in a traditional versus a contempor...

Acoustic analysis and playback studies have greatly advanced our understanding of between-individual differences in nonverbal communication. Yet, researchers have only recently begun to investigate within-individual variation in the voice, particularly how people modulate key vocal parameters across various social contexts, with most of this resear...

Objectives More symmetric organisms are perceived as more attractive. Fluctuating asymmetry (FA) i.e. small, random deviations from perfect bilateral symmetry, is supposed to inform about developmental instability. According to the good genes hypothesis, a low level of FA is a putative cue to an organism's biological quality. An important aspect of...

Development of male secondary sexual traits depends on the level of androgens, mainly testosterone and dihydrotestosterone (DHT). In human males, the masculinity level is positively correlated to attractiveness, especially in the context of a short-term relationship, in which commitment to a partner or paternal care of offspring are not expected. T...

The observations that testosterone might be immunosuppressive, form the basis for the immunocompetence handicap hypothesis (ICHH). According to ICHH only high-quality individuals can maintain high levels of testosterone and afford the physiological cost of hormone-derived immunosuppression. The animal and human studies that attempted to support the...

According to the good genes hypothesis and energy allocation theory, human adult body height may reflect biological quality. An important aspect of this quality is immune system functioning (ISF). The aim of this studywas to evaluate the relationship between ISF and body height in healthy people. The ISF was determined by several important innate (...

Although interest in the selfie phenomenon has recently increased, no studies have yet examined the meaning behind posting romantic selfies. In a study involving a total of 584 men and women, we examined whether the amount of romantic selfies on Facebook profiles may reliably reflect love level in a heterosexual relationship, as evaluated using Ste...

Background: Male gender and adiposity are considered to be risk factors for Staphylococcus aureus carriage. We tested whether colonization is related to free testosterone (fT) level and adiposity, measured with body mass index (BMI) and body fat percentage (BFP), in healthy adults. Methods: Blood sample and throat swabs were taken twice (at 4-we...

Objectives: Total leukocyte count (white blood cells-WBC) and the count of each subpopulation vary across the menstrual cycle, but results of studies examining the time and direction of these changes are inconsistent and methodologically flawed. Besides, no previous study focused on leukocyte count on the day of ovulation. Methods: Blood samples...

Zahavi's handicap principle suggests that only organisms with good genetic quality can afford to engage in costly behaviors. Recreational drug use can be harmful to one's health and therefore might be viewed as a costly signal of one's genetic quality. One of the measurements of genetic quality is bodily symmetry assessed by fluctuating asymmetry....

Body height, body mass index (BMI) and waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) are the main traits characterizing human body morphology. Studies show that these traits are related to attractiveness and, therefore, according to an evolutionary point of view, are supposed to be honest signals of biological quality. If the immunocompetence handicap principal (IHP) i...

The purpose of this study was to examine the associations between using unhealthy substances and the digit ratio (2nd to 4th digit length ratio, 2D:4D) which is supposed to indicate the prenatal testosterone level. The subjects were 455 students, 225 women and 230 men. Participants declared their frequency of smoking and alcohol drinking. There as...

Human voice pitch is sexually dimorphic and therefore conveys important information about its owner’s sex. Since people often associate voice pitch with age, body size, attractiveness and, in the case of men, level of dominance, it is assumed that voice pitch signals biological condition. We tested (1) how female voice pitch is related to perceptio...