Study shows synthetic pheromone in womens perfume increases intimate contac...( SAN FRANCISCO March 20 2002 Womens ...),Health

SAN FRANCISCO, March 20, 2002 Womens perfume laced with synthetic pheromones acts as a sexual magnet and increases the sexual attractiveness of women to men, San Francisco State University researchers conclude in a study appearing in the current issue of the quarterly journal Physiology and Behavior.

The study, the first of its kind to independently test a sex attractant pheromone for women, showed that of the 36 women tested, 74 percent of those wearing their regular perfume with the pheromone saw an overall increase in three or more of the following sociosexual behaviors: frequency of kissing, heavy petting and affection, sexual intercourse, sleeping next to their partner, and formal dates with men.

In contrast, only 23 percent of the women who had a placebo added to their perfume saw an increase in these sociosexual behaviors. Researchers conclude from these data that the pheromone users were more sexually attractive to men.

This is a biological signal to a man that suggests that this woman can reproduce and he responds with romantic behavior related to securing intimate relations with her, said research author Norma McCoy, an SFSU psychology professor. This is not a smell one can detect, neither the man nor the woman is aware of it, but its very powerful. This chemical appears to influence a mans desire to have sexual intercourse. McCoy, a member of the International Academy of Sex Research, has spent more than 20 years studying female sexuality. In 1995 McCoy researched the role oral contraceptives play in suppressing women's sexual interest. To her surprise, the well-publicized study revealed that some oral contraceptives instead enhanced a womans libido.

In the pheromone study, one woman reported she engaged in kissing and petting about one day a week before taking part in the experiment. However, after wearing the pheromone, the number increased to nearly six times a week. The woman also reported she slept next to a romantic partn
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Contact: Norma McCoy
mccoy@sfsu.edu
650-493-1457
San Francisco State University
20-Mar-2002