Posted on 05/06/2011 1:08:34 PM PDT by Red Badger
Sexual chemicals affect how we identify an androgynous figure.
Women and men can sniff out the opposite sex via odorless pheromones, a new study suggests.
The discovery adds another piece to the growing body of evidence that humans, much like the rest of the animal kingdom, know more from their noses than previously thought.
"We know that for animals, chemosignals are actually the most used signals to communicate, whereas with humans, we think chemosensation is not really used," said study leader Wen Zhou, a psychologist at the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing.
"But based on our experiences, they are still influenced by these cues, even if they don't explicitly know it."
In a recent experiment, subjects who smelled possible pheromones from the opposite sex were more likely to interpret ambiguous human figures as that sex—even when the participants didn't know they were smelling anything.
Pheromones—chemicals that can communicate sexual information—are widespread in the animal world, and some research suggests humans use them unconsciously as well.
(See "Lesbians Respond Differently to 'Human Pheromones,' Study Says.")
Zhou and colleagues used videos of points of light moving in a way that fools the eye into seeing human motion.
The videos were made by filming real people in motion-capture suits with LEDs at each joint—similar to the suits used to create Hollywood special effects.
Then the scientists mathematically manipulated the dots until the "figures" had neither a typically male nor typically female gait.
Sex Pheromones Influence Gender Choice
Twenty men and 20 women watched the video animations of these ambiguous figures, as well as ones that were more obviously male or female. While watching the videos, the subjects sniffed clove oil infused with the male steroid androstadienone, the female steroid estratetraenol, or a plain oil used as a base for many cosmetics.
Men who smelled the female pheromone were more likely to identify the androgynous walker as a woman, and even were more likely to identify more clearly male figures as female than those who just smelled clove oil.
(Also read "Women's Tears Reduce Sex Drive in Men, Study Hints.")
The same results applied when women sniffed the male compound: They more frequently saw the ambiguous figures as male than the women who smelled the plain oil.
Estratetraenol had no effect on women, and androstadienone didn't affect men.
This perception difference seems to be completely unrelated to what their noses told them: A blindfolded test subject couldn't tell the difference between steroid-infused clove oil and plain oil.
"It's completely below their awareness," Zhou said. "They didn't know what they were smelling, but their behavior showed these different patterns."
Zhou presented the research in April at the annual meeting of the Association for Chemoreception Sciences.
Funny how that works... but it’s true for me as well!
I wonder if the problem with sodomites lies in their brain’s olfactory center?
" Even if average musclebound lunkhead looks good, if he smells like a sewer and/or has a voice like Justin Bieber, any female over the age of 12 isn’t going to grasp much interest.
But, if he has a voice like Sean Connery or Sam Elliot….. Especially Sam Elliot. Well, there’s a voice that can tell me a bedtime story any night.
Where was I? Oh, yes. Let’s not forget scent. The natural scent of a man is something that gives me chills. Sometimes it can be enhanced a little with cologne or oils. Not motor oil, mind you. Although, a man who is eye-catching and has just fixed your car is quite an attraction.
There are many different scents on the market. Some of them make a lady want to snuggle. Others are very yummy, indeed.
Now, Old Spice. Highly NOT recommended. I don’t care if it gives you hallucinations of being on a boat. It’s called OLD Spice and smells like you’re covering up for the smell of the mothballs from your monthly ventures in leisure suit wearing."
What did the blind guy say when he walked past the fish market?
And if that is a legitimate interpretation of the data, then the validity of that conclusion is extremely significant.
Good fragrances meld with each individual. The scent can be extremely different. Usually for the best. Nothing better than a memory of a fragrance, whether it be sexual or just a mere introduction to an interesting member of the opposite sex. Even a member of the same sex. Try to remember your first boss’ office for instance, or a meeting with a coworker. If you have a good smell, you’ll remember everything.
Unfortunately, bad fragrances will do the opposite. They just stink differently. This is a first grade opine but mine never the less.
poobear
good to see sluts uniting for a worthy cause
Idiot chinaman. Any man who has experienced a whiff of that certain fragrance from long ago knows this guy is a stupid toad.
Most subhuman primates have large olfactory lobes, and in subprimates it often is the largest sensorimotor lobe of the brain. Even creatures like buzzards have a highly developed sense of smell.
Nice thought. It is amazing how a smell can affect us. I used to work in a factory and one morning one of the bosses walked by me - he was smoking a pipe. Instantly the particular mix he was smoking took me back to sitting on my Grandad’s knee. I had not seen my Grandfather since I was six and was about 25 at the time this happened - amazing! Brought me to tears!
Mel
Amazing isn’t it?
I can remember an entire day at my Uncle’s when I was about 7 now that you now that you mentioned your Grandfather’s pipe. He smoked a pipe too. It was a great day at his home on a lake and many of my cousins were there. I even remember his old Basset Hound, Clarence. Thanks for the memories.
One time, my ex put on my daughter’s perfume. And she couldn’t understand why I wouldn’t touch her the rest of the weekend?! sheesh...
Cool - now you got me teary about your memories LOL
God Bless
Mel
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