Pheromones - a chemical substance produced and released into the environment by an animal affecting the behaviour or physiology of others in its own species.
Hidden form of communication
Animal pheromones are a fact, Human Pheromones are still debated
Humans might not respond to them the same way animals do
We have languages to communicate now
Pheromones are detected by the Vomeronasal Organ (VNO) - responsible for processing regular smell.
Pheromones are processed by the Accessory Olfactory Bulb
Fetuses have accessory olfactory bulbs, but they regress
Pheromones DID impact us
Some people still have VNOs
It is disconnected from the Nervous System
Has NO Impact
Pheromones could still be processed somewhere else
Evolution - changed the way we detect and process
Releaser EST / AND |
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Primer |
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Signaler |
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Modulator |
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AND | EST | |
M → F Functions
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Functions
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Functions
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McClintock (1971)
EST - Modulator
Aim: Prove Pheromones cause menstrual synchronization
IV - NOTHING. THERE IS NO IV.
DV - Onset Date
Research Method - Questionnaire, Natural
Method
135 Females in College Dormitory
USA
College Dorm - Same Environment
Females would fill questionnaires on onset day each month
Gave it to roommates and close friends
Live in close proximity => Share time together, in same environment
Results
Significant increase in synchronisation over time
Argued this COULD be a pheromonal response
She didn't take any physiological data
This would've confirmed it was due to pheromones
Examples, Blood Sample, Temperature - Changes during Period
No Support in The Findings of this Study
Repeated again by 2 different studies - None agreed with the results
Trevathan (1993) - 29 Lesbian Partners - No Evidence of Synchronicity
Live in same environment
Yang & Schank (2006) - 186 Chinese women living in dorm for 1 year - No Evidence
↓ Reliability
Application | DIVER |
She took no Physiological Data to understand the effect of EST | D
I
In the end: PPs could lie Ecological Validity - Own Dorms ↓ Population Validity - Americans |
Cutler, Friedmann, McCoy (1998)
McCoys - Crisps: Cut and Fry potatoes
(Weird way to remember their names :P)
AND - Releaser
Aim: Test whether synthesized human pheromones increase sociosexual behaviour
IV: Exposure to AND
DV: Sociosexual Behaviour
Research Method: Field, Questionnaire
Ethics
✓ Consent - Medical Procedure, Put on Aftershave, Did questionnaire every day
X Consent - Deception
X Deception
Placebo BUT It was necessary
X Harm - Placebo
Sensitive Personal Info
Method
38 Men aged 26-42
8 weeks in total
2 week Baseline
6 week Placebo-Controlled, Double Blind Trial
PPTs told - testing a pheromone "designed to improve the romance in their lives"
2 Week Baseline
Subjects record daily behavioural records
Behaviours:
petting/affection/kissing
formal dates
informal dates
sleeping next to partner
Intercourse
self stimulation - Non Sociosexual
You need to know all 6 of these ↑
PPTs then took aftershave with placebo or pheromone
Recorded activities every week during 6 week period
Expected Result
Pheromone:
Sociosexual Behaviours - ↑↑
Non Sociosexual Behaviour - ↓↓
Result
Pheromone Group
Most Sociosexual behaviour increased
Compared to Baseline
↑ Sleeping with partner
↑ Intercourse
Compared to Pheromone
↑ Kissing / Petting / Affection
Formal Dates - No Change
Non Sociosexual behaviour - Didn't change between placebo and pheromone
This is different to what we expected
Conclusion
The results are different to what was expected
The data needs replication
Suggests that human male pheromones affect the sexual attractiveness of men to women
Application | DIVER |
HOWEVER: there was no change in self stimulation to ejaculation even though there should be a decrease and not all socio sexual increased. | I - extraneous variables: Participant variables - the amount they shave usually, money and consent for female dates. D - quantitative data Tick yes or no Reductionist - can you quantify amount of sociosexual behaviour? Subjectivity - can compare the two groups E High in ecological validity Natural environment - more likely to behave naturally. |
Hare et al (2017)
AND + EST = releaser
Aim: to investigate if AND and EST signal gender and affect male perception
IV: pheromone or placebo
DV: gender identification and sexual attraction
RM: lab
Ethics
Deception - broken
Consent - broken
Confidential - met
Method
140 heterosexual adults (divided into 2 groups of 70)
Repeated measures design
Completed two computer based tasks on two consecutive days
One of the days exposed to the putative pheromone (AND or EST) masked with clove oil
On the other day exposed to control scent (clove oil alone)
The order of conditions were counterbalanced
First task shown 5 gender neutral facial morphs and had to indicate gender
Second task shown photos of individuals of opposite sex and rate them on a scale of 1 to 10.
Results
No difference in gender assigned to the morphed faces in pheromone vs control
No difference in the average attractiveness ratings
Conclusion
AND and EST do not act as signals of gender or of attractivenesss.
Application | DIVER |
1) AND and EST does not impact gender identification and sexual attraction 2) There was no difference in gender asssigned to the morphed faces and no difference in the average attractiveness ratings. 3) AND and EST are meant to help with gender identification and increase sexual attraction from either man to woman or vice versa so there was meant to be an increase because they are releasers. | I - control variables:
Increases causality of the experiment V High in construct validity - the study measures what it is supposed to measure however results did not correlate Rate of number scales for comparison however subjective E Low in ecological validity - lab experiment Low in mundane realism - may impact their answers |