Associate Professor Brendan Zietsch
Associate Professor

Brendan Zietsch

Email: 
Phone: 
+61 7 336 56230

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

Search Professor Brendan Zietsch’s works on UQ eSpace

129 works between 2005 and 2025
All (129) Journal Article (104) Book Chapter (6) Conference Publication (16) Other Outputs (3)

61 - 80 of 129 works

2016

Journal Article

Testing the mate-choice hypothesis of the female orgasm: disentangling traits and behaviours

Sherlock, James M., Sidari, Morgan J., Harris, Emily Ann, Barlow, Fiona Kate and Zietsch, Brendan P. (2016). Testing the mate-choice hypothesis of the female orgasm: disentangling traits and behaviours. Socioaffective Neuroscience & Psychology, 6 (1), 31562. doi: 10.3402/snp.v6.31562

Testing the mate-choice hypothesis of the female orgasm: disentangling traits and behaviours

2016

Journal Article

The role of genes and environment in degree of partner self-similarity

Sherlock, James M., Verweij, Karin J. H., Murphy, Sean C., Heath, Andrew C., Martin, Nicholas G. and Zietsch, Brendan P. (2016). The role of genes and environment in degree of partner self-similarity. Behavior Genetics, 47 (1), 1-11. doi: 10.1007/s10519-016-9808-0

The role of genes and environment in degree of partner self-similarity

2016

Journal Article

The association of genetic predisposition to depressive symptoms with non-suicidal and suicidal self-injuries

Maciejewski, Dominique F., Renteria, Miguel E., Abdellaoui, Abdel, Medland, Sarah E., Few, Lauren R., Gordon, Scott D., Madden, Pamela A. F., Montgomery, Grant, Trull, Timothy J., Heath, Andrew C., Statham, Dixie J., Martin, Nicholas G., Zietsch, Brendan P. and Verweij, Karin J. H. (2016). The association of genetic predisposition to depressive symptoms with non-suicidal and suicidal self-injuries. Behavior Genetics, 47 (1), 1-8. doi: 10.1007/s10519-016-9809-z

The association of genetic predisposition to depressive symptoms with non-suicidal and suicidal self-injuries

2016

Other Outputs

Older fathers’ children have lower evolutionary fitness across four centuries and in four populations

Arslan, Ruben C., Willführ, Kai P., Frans, Emma, Verweij, Karin J. H., Myrskylä, Mikko, Voland, Eckart, Almqvist, Catarina, Zietsch, Brendan P. and Penke, Lars (2016). Older fathers’ children have lower evolutionary fitness across four centuries and in four populations. doi: 10.1101/042788

Older fathers’ children have lower evolutionary fitness across four centuries and in four populations

2016

Journal Article

Individual differences as the output of evolved calibration mechanisms: does the theory make sense in view of empirical observations?

Zietsch, Brendan P. (2016). Individual differences as the output of evolved calibration mechanisms: does the theory make sense in view of empirical observations?. Current Opinion in Psychology, 7, 71-75. doi: 10.1016/j.copsyc.2015.08.014

Individual differences as the output of evolved calibration mechanisms: does the theory make sense in view of empirical observations?

2016

Journal Article

Correction: The quantitative genetics of disgust sensitivity (vol 16, pg 43, 2016)

Sherlock, James M., Zietsch, Brendan P., Tybur, Joshua M. and Jern, Patrick (2016). Correction: The quantitative genetics of disgust sensitivity (vol 16, pg 43, 2016). Emotion, 16 (1), 51-51. doi: 10.1037/emo0000141

Correction: The quantitative genetics of disgust sensitivity (vol 16, pg 43, 2016)

2016

Journal Article

The quantitative genetics of disgust sensitivity

Sherlock, James M., Zietsch, Brendan P., Tybur, Joshua M. and Jern, Patrick (2016). The quantitative genetics of disgust sensitivity. Emotion, 16 (1), 43-51. doi: 10.1037/emo0000101

The quantitative genetics of disgust sensitivity

2016

Journal Article

Facial averageness and genetic quality: Testing heritability, genetic correlation with attractiveness, and the paternal age effect

Lee, Anthony J., Mitchem, Dorian G., Wright, Margaret J., Martin, Nicholas G., Keller, Matthew C. and Zietsch, Brendan P. (2016). Facial averageness and genetic quality: Testing heritability, genetic correlation with attractiveness, and the paternal age effect. Evolution and Human Behavior, 37 (1), 61-66. doi: 10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2015.08.003

Facial averageness and genetic quality: Testing heritability, genetic correlation with attractiveness, and the paternal age effect

2016

Book Chapter

Is prejudice heritable? Evidence from twin studies

Barlow, Fiona Kate, Sherlock, James and Zietsch, Brendan P. (2016). Is prejudice heritable? Evidence from twin studies. The Cambridge handbook of the psychology of prejudice. (pp. 222-238) edited by Chris G. Sibley and Fiona Kate Barlow. Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press. doi: 10.1017/9781316161579.010

Is prejudice heritable? Evidence from twin studies

2016

Conference Publication

Facial averageness and genetic quality: testing heritability, genetic correlation with attractiveness, and the paternal age effect

Zietsch, Brendan, Lee, Anthony, Mitchem, Dorian, Wright, Margaret, Martin, Nicholas and Keller, Matthew (2016). Facial averageness and genetic quality: testing heritability, genetic correlation with attractiveness, and the paternal age effect. 46th Annual Meeting of the Behavior Genetics Association, Brisbane Australia, 20-23 June, 2016. New York, NY, United States: Springer.

Facial averageness and genetic quality: testing heritability, genetic correlation with attractiveness, and the paternal age effect

2015

Journal Article

Pathogen disgust sensitivity and resource scarcity are associated with mate preference for different waist-to-hip ratios, shoulder-to-hip ratios, and body mass index

Lee, Anthony J., Brooks, Robert C., Potter, Katrina J. and Zietsch, Brendan P. (2015). Pathogen disgust sensitivity and resource scarcity are associated with mate preference for different waist-to-hip ratios, shoulder-to-hip ratios, and body mass index. Evolution and Human Behavior, 36 (6), 480-488. doi: 10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2015.07.002

Pathogen disgust sensitivity and resource scarcity are associated with mate preference for different waist-to-hip ratios, shoulder-to-hip ratios, and body mass index

2015

Journal Article

A test of the facultative calibration/reactive heritability model of extraversion

Haysom, Hannah J., Mitchem, Dorian G., Lee, Anthony J., Wright, Margaret J., Martin, Nicholas G., Keller, Matthew C. and Zietsch, Brendan P. (2015). A test of the facultative calibration/reactive heritability model of extraversion. Evolution and Human Behavior, 36 (5), 414-419. doi: 10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2015.03.002

A test of the facultative calibration/reactive heritability model of extraversion

2015

Journal Article

Variation in Women's Preferences Regarding Male Facial Masculinity Is Better Explained by Genetic Differences Than by Previously Identified Context-Dependent Effects

Zietsch, Brendan P., Lee, Anthony J., Sherlock, James M. and Jern, Patrick (2015). Variation in Women's Preferences Regarding Male Facial Masculinity Is Better Explained by Genetic Differences Than by Previously Identified Context-Dependent Effects. Psychological Science, 26 (9), 1440-1448. doi: 10.1177/0956797615591770

Variation in Women's Preferences Regarding Male Facial Masculinity Is Better Explained by Genetic Differences Than by Previously Identified Context-Dependent Effects

2015

Journal Article

No relationship between intelligence and facial attractiveness in a large, genetically informative sample

Mitchem, Dorian G., Zietsch, Brendan P., Wright, Margaret J., Martin, Nicholas G., Hewitt, John K. and Keller, Matthew C. (2015). No relationship between intelligence and facial attractiveness in a large, genetically informative sample. Evolution and Human Behavior, 36 (3), 240-247. doi: 10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2014.11.009

No relationship between intelligence and facial attractiveness in a large, genetically informative sample

2015

Journal Article

Evolutionary behavioral genetics

Zietsch, Brendan P., de Candia, Teresa R. and Keller, Matthew C. (2015). Evolutionary behavioral genetics. Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences, 2, 73-80. doi: 10.1016/j.cobeha.2014.09.005

Evolutionary behavioral genetics

2015

Journal Article

Genetic basis of a cognitive complexity metric

Hansell, Narelle K., Halford, Graeme S., Andrews, Glenda, Shum, David H. K., Harris, Sarah E., Davies, Gail, Franic, Sanja, Christoforou, Andrea, Zietsch, Brendan, Painter, Jodie, Medland, Sarah E., Ehli, Erik A., Davies, Gareth E., Steen, Vidar M., Lundervold, Astri J., Reinvang, Ivar, Montgomery, Grant W., Espeseth, Thomas, Pol, Hilleke E. Hulshoff, Starr, John M., Martin, Nicholas G., Le Hellard, Stephanie, Boomsma, Dorret I., Deary, Ian J. and Wright, Margaret J. (2015). Genetic basis of a cognitive complexity metric. PLoS One, 10 (4) e0123886, 1-19. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0123886

Genetic basis of a cognitive complexity metric

2015

Journal Article

Genetic analysis of human extrapair mating: heritability, between-sex correlation, and receptor genes for vasopressin and oxytocin

Zietsch, Brendan P., Westberg, Lars, Santtila, Pekka and Jern, Patrick (2015). Genetic analysis of human extrapair mating: heritability, between-sex correlation, and receptor genes for vasopressin and oxytocin. Evolution and Human Behavior, 36 (2), 130-136. doi: 10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2014.10.001

Genetic analysis of human extrapair mating: heritability, between-sex correlation, and receptor genes for vasopressin and oxytocin

2015

Journal Article

Did sexual selection shape human music? Testing predictions from the sexual selection hypothesis of music evolution using a large genetically informative sample of over 10,000 twins

Mosing, Miriam A., Verweij, Karin J. H., Madison, Guy, Pedersen, Nancy L., Zietsch, Brendan P. and Ullén, Fredrik (2015). Did sexual selection shape human music? Testing predictions from the sexual selection hypothesis of music evolution using a large genetically informative sample of over 10,000 twins. Evolution and Human Behavior, 36 (5), 359-366. doi: 10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2015.02.004

Did sexual selection shape human music? Testing predictions from the sexual selection hypothesis of music evolution using a large genetically informative sample of over 10,000 twins

2015

Book Chapter

Personality, evolutionary models of

Haysom, Hannah J., Verweij, Karin J. H. and Zietsch, Brendan P. (2015). Personality, evolutionary models of. International encyclopedia of the social and behavioral sciences. (pp. 899-905) edited by James D. Wright. Amsterdam, Netherlands: Elsevier. doi: 10.1016/B978-0-08-097086-8.25076-9

Personality, evolutionary models of

2014

Journal Article

Women's pathogen disgust predicting preference for facial masculinity may be specific to age and study design

Lee, Anthony J. and Zietsch, Brendan P. (2014). Women's pathogen disgust predicting preference for facial masculinity may be specific to age and study design. Evolution and Human Behavior, 36 (4), 249-255. doi: 10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2014.12.001

Women's pathogen disgust predicting preference for facial masculinity may be specific to age and study design

Past funding

  • 2017 - 2023
    Analysis of the drivers and constraints of romantic partner choice
    ARC Future Fellowships
    Open grant
  • 2014
    Developing novel individual-difference measures of human brain structure: Masculinity/femininity and deviation-from-average
    UQ Early Career Researcher
    Open grant
  • 2012 - 2014
    Investigating the evolution of human traits and the maintenance of heritable individual differences
    ARC Discovery Early Career Researcher Award
    Open grant
  • 2011 - 2013
    ResTeach 2011 0.1 FTE School of Psychology
    Open grant
  • 2010 - 2012
    The evolutionary behaviour genetics of human mate preferences, mate choices, and mating strategies
    UQ Postdoctoral Research Fellowship
    Open grant

Availability

Associate Professor Brendan Zietsch is:
Not available for supervision

Supervision history

Current supervision

  • 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

  • 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

Completed supervision

Enquiries

Contact Associate Professor Brendan Zietsch directly for media enquiries about:

  • disgust sensitivity
  • female orgasm
  • mate choice
  • mate preferences
  • Personality
  • sexual dimorphism

Need help?

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communications@uq.edu.au