Year-end Sale % OFF 
Abstract
Debate continues over the existence of human sex pheromones. Two substances, androstadienone (AND) and estratetraenol (EST), were recently reported to signal male and female gender, respectively, potentially qualifying them as human sex pheromones. If AND and EST truly signal gender, then they should affect reproductively relevant behaviours such as mate perception. To test this hypothesis, heterosexual, Caucasian human participants completed two computer-based tasks twice, on two consecutive days, exposed to a control scent on one day and a putative pheromone (AND or EST) on the other. In the first task, 46 participants (24 male, 22 female) indicated the gender (male or female) of five gender-neutral facial morphs. Exposure to AND or EST had no effect on gender perception. In the second task, 94 participants (43 male, 51 female) rated photographs of opposite-sex faces for attractiveness and probable sexual unfaithfulness. Exposure to the putative pheromones had no effect on either attractiveness or unfaithfulness ratings. These results are consistent with those of other experimental studies and reviews that suggest AND and EST are unlikely to be human pheromones. The double-blind nature of the current study lends increased support to this conclusion. If human sex pheromones affect our judgements of gender, attractiveness or unfaithfulness from faces, they are unlikely to be AND or EST.
Highlights
Chemical communication is arguably the oldest and most common form of communication among living things [1]
Both sexes report that body scent affects sexual interest [13], and women value olfactory cues more than visual cues when choosing partners [14], but no unambiguous human sex pheromones have been identified to date
Despite the lack of evidence establishing AND and EST as pheromones [15], a body of human pheromone research has grown around the steroids, reporting various effects on behaviour, physiology and mood [23,24,25]
Summary
Chemical communication is arguably the oldest and most common form of communication among living things [1]. Recent research indicates AND has identical effects on the attractiveness of vocal signals in both genders [19] Given this controversy, as well as problems with definitions of pheromones, concerns about how to design experiments testing the effects of AND and EST, and the confidential nature of the protocols and data of the commercial assay that uncovered the steroids, critics argue there are no grounds to assume that AND and EST are human pheromones [15,20,21,22]. Despite the lack of evidence establishing AND and EST as pheromones [15], a body of human pheromone research has grown around the steroids, reporting various effects on behaviour, physiology and mood [23,24,25]. If AND and EST are human pheromones, they should signal gender and influence reproductively relevant behaviours, such as perceptions of a potential mate’s attractiveness or unfaithfulness
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
