Overview
Background
Brendan's PhD studies were based in the Genetic Epidemiology Laboratory at QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, where he investigated the genetics of sexual behaviour. He joined UQ in 2010 on a UQ Postdoctoral Fellowship, followed by an ARC DECRA and then an ARC Future Fellowship.
His work focuses on understanding the evolutionary and genetic underpinnings of human behaviour, in terms of what humans are like in general and what makes individuals differ from one another. Topics include personality, sexual and romantic preferences and choices, mental and physical determinants of attractiveness, sex differences and masculinity/femininity, and evolutionary modelling.
Availability
- Associate Professor Brendan Zietsch is:
- Not available for supervision
- Media expert
Qualifications
- Bachelor (Honours) of Psychological Science, The University of Queensland
- Doctor of Philosophy, The University of Queensland
Works
Search Professor Brendan Zietsch’s works on UQ eSpace
2021
Journal Article
Are Sex Differences in Human Brain Structure Associated With Sex Differences in Behavior?
van Eijk, Liza, Zhu, Dajiang, Couvy-Duchesne, Baptiste, Strike, Lachlan T., Lee, Anthony J., Hansell, Narelle K., Thompson, Paul M., de Zubicaray, Greig I., McMahon, Katie L., Wright, Margaret J. and Zietsch, Brendan P. (2021). Are Sex Differences in Human Brain Structure Associated With Sex Differences in Behavior?. Psychological Science, 32 (8) 095679762199666, 1-15. doi: 10.1177/0956797621996664
2021
Journal Article
Intelligence can be detected but is not found attractive in videos and live interactions
Driebe, Julie C., Sidari, Morgan J., Dufner, Michael, von der Heiden, Juliane M., Bürkner, Paul C., Penke, Lars, Zietsch, Brendan P. and Arslan, Ruben C. (2021). Intelligence can be detected but is not found attractive in videos and live interactions. Evolution and Human Behavior, 42 (6), 507-516. doi: 10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2021.05.002
2021
Journal Article
When theory cannot explain data, the theory needs rethinking. Invited replies to: Orzack SH, Hardy ICW. 2021, and Lehtonen J. 2021
Zietsch, Brendan P., Walum, Hasse, Lichtenstein, Paul, Verweij, Karin J. H. and Kuja-Halkola, Ralf (2021). When theory cannot explain data, the theory needs rethinking. Invited replies to: Orzack SH, Hardy ICW. 2021, and Lehtonen J. 2021. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 288 (1947) rspb.2021.0304, 20210304. doi: 10.1098/rspb.2021.0304
2021
Journal Article
Response to comment on "Large-scale GWAS reveals insights into the genetic architecture of same-sex sexual behavior"
Ganna, Andrea, Verweij, Karin J. H., Nivard, Michel G., Maier, Robert, Wedow, Robbee, Busch, Alexander S., Abdellaoui, Abdel, Guo, Shengru, Sathirapongsasuti, J. Fah, Lichtenstein, Paul, Lundstrom, Sebastian, Langstrom, Niklas, Auton, Adam, Harris, Kathleen Mullan, Beecham, Gary W., Martin, Eden R., Sanders, Alan R., Perry, John R. B., Neale, Benjamin M. and Zietsch, Brendan P. (2021). Response to comment on "Large-scale GWAS reveals insights into the genetic architecture of same-sex sexual behavior". Science, 371 (6536) eaba5693, eaba5693. doi: 10.1126/science.aba5693
2021
Journal Article
For the good of evolutionary psychology, let's reunite proximate and ultimate explanations
Zietsch, Brendan P., Sidari, Morgan J., Murphy, Sean C., Sherlock, James M. and Lee, Anthony J. (2021). For the good of evolutionary psychology, let's reunite proximate and ultimate explanations. Evolution and Human Behavior, 42 (1), 76-78. doi: 10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2020.06.009
2021
Journal Article
Why are some people more jealous than others? Genetic and environmental factors
Kupfer, Tom R., Sidari, Morgan J., Zietsch, Brendan P., Jern, Patrick, Tybur, Joshua M. and Wesseldijk, Laura W. (2021). Why are some people more jealous than others? Genetic and environmental factors. Evolution and Human Behavior, 43 (1), 26-33. doi: 10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2021.08.002
2020
Journal Article
The Kinsey scale is ill-suited to most sexuality research because it does not measure a single construct
Zietsch, Brendan P. and Sidari, Morgan J. (2020). The Kinsey scale is ill-suited to most sexuality research because it does not measure a single construct. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 117 (44), 27080-27080. doi: 10.1073/pnas.2015820117
2020
Journal Article
Region-specific sex differences in the hippocampus
van Eijk, Liza, Hansell, Narelle K., Strike, Lachlan T., Couvy-Duchesne, Baptiste, de Zubicaray, Greig I., Thompson, Paul M., McMahon, Katie L., Zietsch, Brendan P. and Wright, Margaret J. (2020). Region-specific sex differences in the hippocampus. NeuroImage, 215 116781, 116781. doi: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2020.116781
2020
Journal Article
Nick Martin's contributions to human sexuality research
Verweij, Karin J. H. and Zietsch, Brendan P. (2020). Nick Martin's contributions to human sexuality research. Twin Research and Human Genetics, 23 (2), 1-4. doi: 10.1017/thg.2020.42
2020
Journal Article
Preferences for sexually dimorphic body characteristics revealed in a large sample of speed daters
Sidari, Morgan J., Lee, Anthony J., Murphy, Sean C., Sherlock, James M., Dixson, Barnaby J. W. and Zietsch, Brendan P. (2020). Preferences for sexually dimorphic body characteristics revealed in a large sample of speed daters. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 12 (2), 225-236. doi: 10.1177/1948550619882925
2020
Journal Article
No genetic contribution to variation in human offspring sex ratio: a total population study of 4.7 million births
Zietsch, Brendan P, Walum, Hasse, Lichtenstein, Paul, Verweij, Karin J H and Kuja-Halkola, Ralf (2020). No genetic contribution to variation in human offspring sex ratio: a total population study of 4.7 million births. Royal Society of London. Proceedings B. Biological Sciences, 287 (1921) 20192849, 20192849. doi: 10.1098/rspb.2019.2849
2020
Journal Article
Sex differences in misperceptions of sexual interest can be explained by sociosexual orientation and men projecting their own interest onto women
Lee, Anthony J., Sidari, Morgan J., Murphy, Sean C., Sherlock, James M. and Zietsch, Brendan P. (2020). Sex differences in misperceptions of sexual interest can be explained by sociosexual orientation and men projecting their own interest onto women. Psychological Science, 31 (2) 0956797619900315, 095679761990031-192. doi: 10.1177/0956797619900315
2019
Journal Article
Response: Genome studies must account for history
Ganna, Andrea, Verweij, Karin J. H., Nivard, Michel G., Maier, Robert, Wedow, Robbee, Busch, Alexander S., Abdellaoui, Abdel, Guo, Shengru, Sathirapongsasuti, J. Fah, Lichtenstein, Paul, Lundstrom, Sebastian, Langstrom, Niklas, Auton, Adam, Harris, Kathleen Mullan, Beecham, Gary W., Martin, Eden R., Sanders, Alan R., Perry, John R. B., Neale, Benjamin M. and Zietsch, Brendan P. (2019). Response: Genome studies must account for history. Science, 366 (6472), 1461-1462. doi: 10.1126/science.aaz8941
2019
Journal Article
No evidence for social genetic effects or genetic similarity among friends beyond that due to population stratification: A reappraisal of Domingue et al (2018)
Yengo, Loic, Sidari, Morgan, Verweij, Karin J. H., Visscher, Peter M., Keller, Matthew C. and Zietsch, Brendan P. (2019). No evidence for social genetic effects or genetic similarity among friends beyond that due to population stratification: A reappraisal of Domingue et al (2018). Behavior Genetics, 50 (1), 67-71. doi: 10.1007/s10519-019-09979-2
2019
Journal Article
More evidence and context are needed to evaluate the possibility that scent perception is part of the same-sex sexual behavior story
Zietsch, Brendan P. (2019). More evidence and context are needed to evaluate the possibility that scent perception is part of the same-sex sexual behavior story. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 50 (6), 2313-2315. doi: 10.1007/s10508-019-01562-4
2019
Journal Article
Genetic correlates of social stratification in Great Britain
Abdellaoui, Abdel, Hugh-Jones, David, Yengo, Loic, Kemper, Kathryn E., Nivard, Michel G., Veul, Laura, Holtz, Yan, Zietsch, Brendan P., Frayling, Timothy M., Wray, Naomi R., Yang, Jian, Verweij, Karin J. H. and Visscher, Peter M. (2019). Genetic correlates of social stratification in Great Britain. Nature Human Behaviour, 3 (12), 1332-1342. doi: 10.1038/s41562-019-0757-5
2019
Journal Article
Large-scale GWAS reveals insights into the genetic architecture of same-sex sexual behavior
Ganna, Andrea, Verweij, Karin J. H., Nivard, Michel G., Maier, Robert, Wedow, Robbee, Busch, Alexander S., Abdellaoui, Abdel, Guo, Shengru, Sathirapongsasuti, J. Fah, Lichtenstein, Paul, Lundström, Sebastian, Långström, Niklas, Auton, Adam, Harris, Kathleen Mullan, Beecham, Gary W., Martin, Eden R., Sanders, Alan R., Perry, John R. B., Neale, Benjamin M. and Zietsch, Brendan P. (2019). Large-scale GWAS reveals insights into the genetic architecture of same-sex sexual behavior. Science, 365 (6456) , eaat7693, eaat7693-+. doi: 10.1126/science.aat7693
2019
Journal Article
Absolute and relative estimates of genetic and environmental variance in brain structure volumes
Strike, Lachlan T., Hansell, Narelle K., Thompson, Paul M., de Zubicaray, Greig I., McMahon, Katie L., Zietsch, Brendan P. and Wright, Margaret J. (2019). Absolute and relative estimates of genetic and environmental variance in brain structure volumes. Brain Structure and Function, 224 (8), 2805-2821. doi: 10.1007/s00429-019-01931-8
2019
Other Outputs
No evidence for social genetic effects or genetic similarity among friends beyond that due to population stratification: a reappraisal of Domingue et al (2018)
Yengo, Loic, Sidari, Morgan, Verweij, Karin J. H., Visscher, Peter M., Keller, Matthew C. and Zietsch, Brendan P. (2019). No evidence for social genetic effects or genetic similarity among friends beyond that due to population stratification: a reappraisal of Domingue et al (2018). doi: 10.1101/643304
2019
Conference Publication
Insights from the largest genetic study of sexual orientation
Ganna, A., Beecham, G., Day, F., Martin, E., Meier, R., Neale, B., Nivard, M., Perry, J., Sanders, A., Verweij, K., Wedow, R. and Zietsch, B. (2019). Insights from the largest genetic study of sexual orientation. 51st Conference of the European Society of Human Genetics (ESHG) in conjunction with the European Meeting on Psychosocial Aspects of Genetics (EMPAG), Milan, Italy, 16-19 June, 2018. London, United Kingdom: Nature Publishing Group.
Funding
Past funding
Supervision
Availability
- Associate Professor Brendan Zietsch is:
- Not available for supervision
Supervision history
Current supervision
-
Doctor Philosophy
The Evolution of Beneficial Misperceptions of Objective Reality Within Social Environments
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Jonathan Redshaw
-
Doctor Philosophy
Applying Advanced Statistical and Computational Methods to Attractiveness Research
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Michael Bulmer
-
Doctor Philosophy
Predictors of perceived versus actual sexual interest
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr David Sewell
-
Doctor Philosophy
The Desirable Dad Hypothesis: An Ultimate Evolutionary Account of Male Same-Sex Attraction
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr David Smerdon
-
Doctor Philosophy
Applying advanced statistical and computational methods to attractiveness research
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Michael Bulmer
-
Doctor Philosophy
Evolutionary Psychology and Mate Choice: Advanced Methodological Approaches
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr David Sewell
-
Doctor Philosophy
Norm Maintenance Behaviour: Strong Reciprocity as a Maintenance Mechanism
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr David Smerdon
-
Doctor Philosophy
Applying Advanced Statistical and Computational Methods to Attractiveness Research
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Michael Bulmer
-
Doctor Philosophy
The Impact of Intergroup Violence on the Evolution of Human Psychology
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Thomas Suddendorf
Completed supervision
-
2021
Doctor Philosophy
Resolving Theoretical Issues in Evolutionary Psychology using Advanced Statistical Techniques
Principal Advisor
-
2019
Doctor Philosophy
Sex Differences in the Brain and their Link with Behaviour and Gender-Biased Disorders
Principal Advisor
-
2018
Doctor Philosophy
Testing evolutionary hypotheses regarding individual differences in human mating strategy
Principal Advisor
-
2015
Doctor Philosophy
Sexual selection and the role of variation in women¿s mate preference for masculine traits.
Principal Advisor
-
2019
Doctor Philosophy
An investigation of sexting across the course of relationships: From dating, to couple relationships, to revenge porn
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Fiona Barlow
-
2017
Doctor Philosophy
A social and evolutionary psychological approach to understanding human mate rejection and aggression
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Fiona Barlow
Media
Enquiries
Contact Associate Professor Brendan Zietsch directly for media enquiries about:
- disgust sensitivity
- female orgasm
- mate choice
- mate preferences
- Personality
- sexual dimorphism
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