Pheromones - Psychology | International Baccalaureate

Pheromones

Chemicals of unknown production origin but are released into the environment, workig by having an animal affect the behaviour of another animal of its own species.

Testability and Empirical Evidence for Theory

Experimental research has been done on humans which show cause-and-effect, but no pheromone has been identified on humans so findings are difficult to generalize.

Construct Validity for Theory

Smells aren’t pheromones and doesn’t equate to a sexual attraction for a mate.

Low Ecological Validity for Theory

Many studies conducted on humans are highly artifical which means the studies can’t be generalized to real-life sutations.

Zhou (2014)

Study that shows AND and EST might be a human pheromone which plays into sexual attraction.

Wedekind (1995)

Study that shows smell can have a subconscious role in human sexual attraction.