Hold onto your nostrils, because we're diving deep into the mysterious world of pheromones!

Pheromones? Basically, they're chemical signals that could influence our behavior. However, scientists can't quite agree if they have a strong effect on humans.

• Lundstrom & Olsson (2005) were on a mission: they wanted to see if androstadienone (a derivative of testosterone and found in sweat) affects women's moods.
• Experiment: Exposed women to androstadienone or a control solution. Also added a twist - there was either a male or female experimenter present.
• Results: Androstadienone made women happier in the presence of a male experimenter. No effect with a female experimenter. So, does this mean the chemical makes women react more to men?
• BUT WAIT
  • The amount of androstadienone they used? Way more than what’s in regular male sweat!
  • Could the male experimenter's handsomeness skew results? (Gosh, we hope he was a looker!)

• A sex pheromone should ideally signal gender. No gender signal? Probably not a sex pheromone!
• Hare et al. (2017) wanted to figure out if androstadienone (AND) and estratetraenol (EST) signal gender and affect how we see potential mates.
• Experiment Setup
  • Participants were exposed to AND or EST masked with clove oil or just clove oil (control).
  • Participants were shown gender-neutral faces and had to guess gender.
  • Then, they rated opposite-sex photos on a hotness scale of 1-10. 🔥
  • Fun fact: It was a double-blinded study with both male and female experimenters!
• Results: Drumroll... No difference! Neither AND nor EST signaled gender or attractiveness. So, no dice on them being sex pheromones.