Wedekind (1995) - Study | Psychology

IB Questions

• Hormones and Behaviour - Pheromones

• Genetics and Behaviour - Evolutionary Explanations

Name of the Researcher

Wedekind

Publication

1995

Method

True Experment

Design

Repeated Measure Design

Aim

To investigate the role of MHC-genetics in sexual attraction.

Procedure and Participants

Participants - 49 Females and 44 Males

1. The men were asked to wear a t-shirt for two nights and given perfume-free hygienic products to refrain from affecting their natural scents.

2. Two days later the women were instructed to smell 7 t-shirts: 3 with similar MHC-genetics, 3 with different genetics and one as control.

3. The smell of the t-shirts were ranked for pleasantness from on a scale of 0-10.

Results

Women ranked shirts with different MHC-genetics higher than the one with similar MHC-genetics.

Conclusion

In support of the parental investment theory, the preference of odor is a subconscious reasoning in humans to choose a better mate for healthier offspring.

Strengths

+ High Internal Validity
+ Double-Blind Study
+ Groundbreaking Study
+ High reliability of findings from animal studies.

Limitations

- Artificial —> Low Ecological Validity
- Low Construct Validity