Category Archives: The Influence of Pheromones on Human Attractiveness, Mood, and Behavior

Abstract Considerable research effort has focused on whether specific compounds found within human body odor influence the behavior or physiology of other individuals. The most intensively studied is 4,16-androstadien-3-one, a chemical which is known to modulate mood and have activational effects in the sympathetic nervous system in a context-dependent manner, but whose action in mate-choice …

Continue reading “Evidence that androstadienone, a putative human chemosignal, modulates women’s attributions of men’s attractiveness”

Abstract To determine whether a putative human sex-attractant pheromone increases specific sociosexual behaviors of postmenopausal women, we tested a chemically synthesized formula derived from research with underarm secretions from heterosexually active, fertile women that was recently tested on young women. Participants (n = 44, mean age = 57 years) were postmenopausal women who volunteered for …

Continue reading “Pheromonal influences on sociosexual behavior in postmenopausal women”

Abstract Evidence suggests that female sexual preferences change across the menstrual cycle. Women’s extra-pair copulations tend to occur in their most fertile period, whereas their intra-pair copulations tend to be more evenly spread out across the cycle. This pattern is consistent with women preferentially seeking men who evidence phenotypic markers of genetic benefits just before …

Continue reading “Menstrual cycle variation in women’s preferences for the scent of symmetrical men”

Abstract The effects of sniffing different concentrations of the human sex-steroid derived compound 4,16-androstadien-3-one (AND) on autonomic nervous system function and mood were measured in 60 subjects. The effects were sex-specific and concentration-dependent. Only high concentrations of AND (0.00625 M) increased positive mood (p < 0.03) and decreased negative mood (p < 0.05) in women …

Continue reading “Sniffing a human sex-steroid derived compound affects mood and autonomic arousal in a dose-dependent manner”

Abstract A natural secretion, 5α-androst-16-en-3α-ol (androstenol) is speculated to function as a spacing pheromone. The effect of the odor of androstenol on restroom-stall choices was investigated over a 5-week period. The first, third, and fifth weeks served as baseline against which the effect of androstenol or a control odor, 3α-hydroxy-5αndrostan-17-one (androsterone) could be evaluated. During …

Continue reading “Androstenol, a putative human pheromone, affects human (Homo sapiens) male choice performance.”

Abstract The scent of the human body can provide important clues about the genetic quality of a potential sexual partner, reproductive status, and health. Among animals, the main criterion is male dominance, but this has not been investigated in humans to date. Here, we demonstrate that women in the fertile days of their cycle prefer …

Continue reading “Women’s preference for dominant male odour: effects of mentrual cycle and relationship status”

Abstract We have investigated whether preferences for masculine and feminine characteristics are correlated across two modalities, olfaction and vision. In study 1, subjects rated the pleasantness of putative male (4,16-androstadien-3-one; 5alpha-androst-16-en-3-one) and female (1,3,5 (10),16-estratetraen-3-ol) pheromones, and chose the most attractive face shape from a masculine-feminine continuum for a long- and a short-term relationship. Study …

Continue reading “Concordant preferences for opposite-sex signals? Human pheromones and facial characteristics”

Abstract We examined the physiological and psychological effects of nanomolar amounts of steroids applied directly under the nose (Delta4,16-androstadien-3-one and 1,3,5,(10),16-estratetraen-3-ol). These potential human chemosignals were not consciously discernible in a strong-odor carrier (clove oil and propylene glycol). In a double-blind, within-subject, repeated-measures experiment with 65 subjects, we demonstrated that both steroids produced sustained changes …

Continue reading “Context-dependent effects of steroid chemosignals on human physiology and mood”

Abstract It has previously been established that, in threatening situations, animals use alarm pheromones to communicate danger. There is emerging evidence of analogous chemosensory “stress” cues in humans. For this study, we collected alarm and exercise sweat from “donors,” extracted it, pooled it and presented it to 16 unrelated “detector” subjects undergoing fMRI. The fMRI …

Continue reading “Human gender differences in the perception of conspecific alarm chemosensory cues”

Abstract The putative human pheromone Delta4,16-androstadien-3-one (androstadienone), a non-androgenic steroid found in sweat and saliva, modulates psychological, physiological and hormonal responses without detection as an odor. To determine the specific psychological processes altered by androstadienone, four studies were completed by 50 men and women after solutions of 250 microM androstadienone or clove-odor control carrier, on …

Continue reading “Putative human pheromone androstadienone attunes the mind specifically to emotional information”