Pheromones and Behavior

Pheromones and Behavior - Short Answer Response

Pheromones are chemical messengers that communicate information such as sexual attractiveness or fertility from one member of a species to another. They play a role in mating behavior in mammals, which have a structure called a vomeronasal organ, which is connected to the accessory olfactory bulb of the brain, where it is processed. However, humans do not seem to have an accessory olfactory bulb, and the effect of pheromones on human behavior has not been conclusively supported. Two chemicals in particular, AND EST, are being studied as putative human pheromones because of reported effects on behavior related to attractiveness in humans. A study conducted by Lundstrom and Olsson studied the effect of AND on men's attractiveness to women and studied the behavior of the mood of the women.

They conducted an experiment that aimed to investigate the effect of androstadienone on the mood of women in the presence of men. Female participants were assessed after being exposed to either androstadienone or a control solution and in the presence of either a male or a female experimenter. The experimenter carried out several measurements, including several questionnaires. One questionnaire measured participants’ moods. The results of the study showed that AND increased the women's mood in the presence of a male experimenter, but not the female experimenter. Therefore, the study concluded that AND may serve the function of signaling attractiveness, which supports its role as a pheromone.

Thus, this study could show how a chemical, AND being studied as a potential pheromone could affect the behavior in relation to the function of a pheromone in signaling attractiveness. Hence, we see the effect of one potential pheromone on the human behavior of the mood of women.