My research focuses on four main areas of inquiry:

(1) Adaptive Biases in Social Judgment. I have asked why humans seem to have such error-prone judgment and decision-making strategies. Our work tests the general hypothesis that some of them could be adaptive.

(2) Ovulatory Shifts in Women's Preferences, Thoughts, and Behaviors. Women’s heavy investment in reproduction has produced selection for a discriminating sexual psychology. The window of fertility within a woman's cycle is also fleetingly brief. Together, these observations predict that women's mating psychology will be sensitive to fertility status and shift behaviors depending on the likelihood of conception. My colleagues and I have tested hypotheses about the design of these adaptations. Recently, we have also discovered visual and auditory cues of ovulation that challenge the long-held notion that ovulation is concealed.

(3) Evolved Relationship Defenses. With Gian Gonzaga, I have investigated how people maintain their long-term mating relationships. We have asked, for example, how people in committed relationships resist the temptation of attractive others.

(4) Flirtation, Sexual Signaling, and Cross-Sex Communication. I also study common misunderstandings between the sexes, particularly in the context of dating and courtship.