Human Pheromones

wiredog writes: "The Washington Post reports on a Swedish study (PDF format) that demonstrates evidence for the existence of human pheromones." The real stuff, not the advertised-in-spam-email frauds.

BFD

[3waygeek]

Lisa proved that in the Simpsons episode Bye Bye Nerdie [snpp.com], rerun last Sunday.

further research

[M-G]

Well, I was beaten to the comment about the Simpson's episode...

I assume that the subjects in this experiment were heterosexual. As research on this continues, it would be interesting to include homosexual subjects. Of course, the people who claim to be able to "cure" homosexuality would then add noseplugs to their list of tools... :)

As the article mentions, humans are a bit more complicated than some of the animals that have immediate responses to pheremones. The physical appearance usually plays a role for us, and things like perfume can certainly have an influence (and if they're wearing too much of it, can drive you away). But it does make you wonder if some people are cranking out large quantities of pheremones - these are the people who arouse desires in everyone they meet, regardless of whether or not they match that person's physical ideals.

Re:further research

[pubudu]

I assume that the subjects in this experiment were heterosexual. As research on this continues, it would be interesting to include homosexual subjects.

According to the report (published online, i.e., not peer reviewed; see a related /. article [slashdot.org]), only twenty-four "healthy subjects" participated, split 50-50 male-female. From page six:

The subjects were healthy, nonsmoking, heterosexual, right-handed, and divided into two groups: 12 women (20-28 years, investigated during second to third week of the menstrual cycle) and 12 men (23-28 years).

Re:further research

[Valdrax]

Don't read too much into that. They were all right-handed, too. It's just a way of picking from a large draw of subjects with minimal differences to throw off data.

Re:further research

[Cy Guy]

They were all right-handed, too.

There is a "robust-but-imperfect correlation between handedness and brain lateralization" [indiana.edu], so if you are studying brain geography it is important to know the handedness of the individuals in the study.

Personally, I think that if they really wanted to control for this they would have used left-handed indivuals only since people that are biologically lefthanded are often made to adapt as to living as righthanded, but the reverse is never true (except in the case of amputees or stroke victims who have lost the use of the right hand).

Re:further research

[Valdrax]

Exactly. It's the same reason that they were all also heterosexual, healthy, and nonsmokers -- less variables in the equation.

My point was that he seemed to be inferring a bias that heterosexuality was required for being a "healthy" subject for the experiment. The truth is that it was just another way of minimizing changes in the way people would react. What if homosexuals do react different to pheromones than heterosexuals? That would throw off the data, just like left-handedness could.

(Now, though, as a left-handed person, I'm interested to know whether or not left-handed people do react differently...)

Re:further research

[Valdrax]

It admit that it could add a new dimension to the nature vs. nuture argument about sexual preference, but it probably wouldn't settle anything. If the reacted to their own gender and not the opposite, then it would definitely swing things in favor of a biological explanation though it could still be a learned preference. If they reacted the same as a heterosexual, then it would say something very powerful about pheromones not actually having much effect on human sexuality. I'd also be interested to see how bisexuals react to the chemicals if there is a switch in gender reaction among homosexuals.

I just worry about the social reprecussions of using artificial pheromones. It seems just a step more sophisticated than hypnosis or drugging your victim's drink. If this does pan out, then I hope that there is a ban on their recreational use. You could hurt a lot of people by using them.

Smell != pheromones?

[mfarah]

the new research suggests that at least some human behaviors may be subliminally influenced by invisible chemicals with no obvious odors.

I completely lack the sense of smell. I can't help but wonder wether this influence applies anyway. Is the detection of those chemicals part of the olfatory glands or is it detected by a different (but related) means?

Uhhh....

[deglr6328]

"One of my female subjects said this smells like my sister's old sanitary napkins."

Rrrrrright.... Maybe subject #494276 should stay on for a little further testing, hm?

Oooh that smell

[Conare]

When my baby daughter was born, she had this smell. It was like the most appetizing baked good you can possibly imagine. Now I have smelled other newborns, but to me they don't smell the same way. The parents of the other newborns will tell you the same thing though (thus the expression bun in the oven). I think when it all shakes out, we will discover the same sorts of mechanisms at work in newborns/parents that we are just now discovering (or should I say scientifically cataloging) here. I have also noticed that fems seem to pay more attention to me when I have showered, but forgotten deodorant. The effect seems to wear off once they come within 3 feet though ;-). "Feminine Deodorant Spray makes me sneeze!" - The Pheromones

Re:Oooh that smell

[Verne]

When my baby daughter was born, she had this smell. It was like the most appetizing baked good you can possibly imagine. Now I have smelled other newborns, but to me they don't smell the same way. The parents of the other newborns will tell you the same thing though (thus the expression bun in the oven).

Is this the same if the baby isn't yours but the wife is?