Staff profile

My research focusses on sexual selection in humans. I am broadly interested in which traits influence how attractive we perceive another person to be, and why. Do we learn to perceive certain traits as attractive – or are our preferences evolved adaptations to find the best quality mate? Do attractive traits reliable index mate quality – or do we just assume they do? I am particularly interested in the role of sexually dimorphic traits (commonly referred to as masculinity in men and femininity in women) in interpersonal attraction and mate choice/mate competition. I am also interested in the pursuit of male status, and especially what role physically formidable traits, such as increased strength and body size, may play when men climb status hierarchies. 

• Face recognition
• Face perception
• Attractiveness
• Mate choice
• Mate preferences
• Sexual dimorphism (masculinity and femininity)
• Romantic and sexual relationships
• Evolutionary psychology

Chapter in book

• Immunocompetence: Facial Masculinity
  Lidborg, L. H. (2024). Immunocompetence: Facial Masculinity. In Encyclopedia of Sexual Psychology and Behavior (1-6). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-08956-5_1156-1
• Facial Masculinity
  Lidborg, L. H. (2023). Facial Masculinity. In Encyclopedia of Sexual Psychology and Behavior (1-13). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-08956-5_1418-1

Journal Article

• A preliminary study on the role of personal history of infectious and parasitic diseases on self-reported health across countries
  Pfuhl, G., Prazeres, F., Kowal, M., Aavik, T., Abad-Villaverde, B., Afhami, R., Aguilar, L., Akello, G., Al-Shawaf, L., Antfolk, J., Atama, C. S., Duyar, D. A., Baiocco, R., Balım, S., Batres, C., Belkacem, Y., Besson, T., Bode, A., Boğa, M., Boudesseul, J., …Sorokowski, P. (2025). A preliminary study on the role of personal history of infectious and parasitic diseases on self-reported health across countries. Public Health, 242, 220-227. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.puhe.2025.02.030
• The temporal dynamics of familiar face recognition: Event-related brain potentials reveal the efficient activation of facial identity representations
  Wiese, H., Popova, T., Lidborg, L. H., & Burton, A. M. (2024). The temporal dynamics of familiar face recognition: Event-related brain potentials reveal the efficient activation of facial identity representations. International Journal of Psychophysiology, 204, Article 112423. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2024.112423
• A meta-analysis of the association between male dimorphism and fitness outcomes in humans
  Lidborg, L. H., Cross, C. P., & Boothroyd, L. G. (2022). A meta-analysis of the association between male dimorphism and fitness outcomes in humans. eLife, 11, Article e65031. https://doi.org/10.7554/elife.65031
• Predictors of enhancing human physical attractiveness: Data from 93 countries
  Kowal, M., Sorokowski, P., Pisanski, K., Valentova, J. V., Varella, M. A., Frederick, D. A., Al-Shawaf, L., García, F. E., Giammusso, I., Gjoneska, B., Kozma, L., Otterbring, T., Papadatou-Pastou, M., Pfuhl, G., Stöckli, S., Studzinska, A., Toplu-Demirtaş, E., Touloumakos, A. K., Bakos, B. E., Batres, C., …Zumárraga-Espinosa, M. (2022). Predictors of enhancing human physical attractiveness: Data from 93 countries. Evolution and Human Behavior, 43(6), 455-474. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2022.08.003
• Language as a Tool: Motor Proficiency Using a Tool Predicts Individual Linguistic Abilities
  Brozzoli, C., Roy, A. C., Lidborg, L. H., & Lövdén, M. (2019). Language as a Tool: Motor Proficiency Using a Tool Predicts Individual Linguistic Abilities. Frontiers in Psychology, 10, Article 1639. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01639