Sexual Chemosignals
Evidence that Men Process Olfactory Signals of Women’s Sexual Arousal
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 8355284 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Arnaud Wisman (0000-0002-7197-9207, University of Kent, corresponding author), Ilan Shrira (Pennsylvania State University) |
| Year | 2020 |
| Volume | 49 |
| Issue | 5 |
| Pages | 1505-1516 |
| Publication date | 2020-07-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Archives of Sexual Behavior (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0004-0002 • E-ISSN: 1573-2800 |
| Publisher | Springer Science and Business Media LLC (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1007/s10508-019-01588-8 |
| PMID | 32026223 |
| OpenAlex | W3005057850 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 8 |
| References cited | 80 |
Research suggests that humans can communicate emotional states (e.g., fear, sadness) via chemosignals. However, thus far little is known about whether sexual arousal can also be conveyed through chemosignals and how these signals might influence the receiver. In three experiments, and a subsequent mini meta-analysis, support was found for the hypothesis that men can process the scent of sexually aroused women and that exposure to these sexual chemosignals affect the subsequent perceptions and sexual motivation of men. Specifically, Experiment 1 revealed that men evaluate the axillary sweat of sexually aroused women as more attractive, compared to the scent of the same women when not sexually aroused. In addition, Experiment 2 showed that exposure to sexual chemosignals increased the men’s sexual arousal. Experiment 3 found support for the thesis that exposure to sexual chemosignals would increase sexual motivation. As predicted, men devoted greater attention to and showed greater interest in mating with women who displayed sexual cues (e.g., scantily dressed, in seductive poses). By contrast, exposure to the sexual chemosignals did not alter males’ attention and mating interest toward women who displayed no sexual cues. It is discussed how sexual chemosignals may function as an additional channel in the communication of sexual interest and how contextual factors can influence the dynamics of human sexual communication
Affect (linguistics) · Animal sexual behaviour · Arousal · Biology · Developmental psychology · Mating · Population · Sexual arousal · Sexual attraction · Sexual behavior · Sexual stimulation · Zoology · Communication · Evolutionary Psychology and Human Behavior · Medicine · Neuroscience · Olfactory and Sensory Function Studies · Psychology · Psychology of Moral and Emotional Judgment
The Impact of Anosmia on Intimacy
The scent of mating strategy
Getting Serious About the Assessment and Promotion of Replicable Sexual Science
Additional Notes of Caution
Broad Agreement, But Notes of Caution With the Implications of Sakaluk’s (2020) Critique of Wisman and Shrira (2020)
Response to Sakaluk (2020)
Response to Commentaries on Sakaluk (2020)
Sniffing of Body Odors and Individual Significance of Olfaction Are Associated with Sexual Desire
Sexual selection and the descent of man, 1871-1971.
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Mating strategy flexibility in the laboratory
The Scent of Symmetry A Human Sex Pheromone that Signals Fitness?
Human evolution and social cognition
Individual differences in sensitivity to disgust
Is There a Gender Difference in Strength of Sex Drive? Theoretical Views, Conceptual Distinctions, and a Review of Relevant Evidence
Mini Meta‐Analysis of Your Own Studies
Calculating and reporting effect sizes to facilitate cumulative science
Sexual Strategies Theory
Statistical power analyses using G*Power 3.1
Parental Investment and Sexual Selection
Gender Differences in Receptivity to Sexual Offers
Receptivity to sexual offers as a function of sex, socioeconomic status, physical attractiveness, and intimacy of the offer
Effects of novelty of copulatory behavior
Revisiting the Concept of Sexual Motivation
The heat of the moment
Extradyadic romantic involvement
Misguided attraction
Ovulatory Shifts in Female Sexual Desire
Gender differences in casual sex and Aids prevention
Eye Movements When Looking at Potential Friends and Romantic Partners
Effects of Positive and Negative Mood on Sexual Arousal in Sexually Functional Males
An Evolutionary Approach Offers a Fresh Perspective on the Relationship Between Oral Contraception and Sexual Desire
Sex-Specific Content Preferences for Visual Sexual Stimuli
Effect of Self-Reported Sexual Arousal on Responses to Sex-Related and Non-Sex-Related Disgust Cues
Does Menstrual Cycle Phase Influence the Gender Specificity of Heterosexual Women’s Genital and Subjective Sexual Arousal
Sex Differences in Short-term Mate Preferences and Behavioral Mimicry
The ecology and evolutionary endocrinology of reproduction in the human female
Ovulation as a male mating prime
Error management theory
Oxford Handbook of Evolutionary Psychology
A power primer
Gender differences in sexuality
| Unique citing works | 8 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1,33 |
| Citation span | 2020 - 2025 (6) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 7 |