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Chapter 9210ovulatory status of the female (dotted arrow). Third, exertion of female preference can be restricted by socio-ecological factors, such as the need to strategically mate with multiple males to reduce infanticide risk. Altogether, this model suggests that there is still a role for female mate choice despite the need to spread paternity probability, and thus the possibility that sexually selective cognition to some extent guides mate choice by Bornean orang-utan females.Figure 2. Schematic depiction of the attractiveness filter of female orang-utans, and the two important factors influencing it. First, ovulatory status influences the sensitivity of the filter, so that females are more biased towards specific males during ovulation. However, social-ecological factors, such as the need to reduce infanticide risk, may constrain the link between female preference and actual proceptive behaviour.Methodological considerationsThis thesis encompasses a range of paradigms employed in humans and Bornean orang-utans, each with their own methodological considerations. Since the literature on primates is scarce and new methods are continuously being developed, I therefore focus on the methodological considerations for testing primates, and specifically orang-utans. Studies of sexually selective cognition in non-human primates remain rare, even though a more systematic approach could help reveal intriguing commonalities and differences between species. In this thesis, I have tried to Tom Roth.indd 210 08-01-2024 10:42