Do pheromones influence human behavior?
Pheromones seem to play an important role in mammalian social and sexual behavior. This suggests that the investigation of pheromone effects in humans is warranted. An early study showed that skin conduction in subjects exposed to androstenone was 1.5 times higher than in the control group [53]. These findings provided clues to the potential physiological effects of the 16-androstenes. In a study by Cowley and Brooksbank [54] 38 men and 38 women wore a necklace with a pendant containing androstenol during sleep. The next morning, the number of social interactions of the subjects was assessed and it showed that women wearing the necklace had had significantly more and more intensive contact with men than subjects in the control group. It was presumed that human pheromones had the potential to facilitate inter-sex communication. Another research team investigated the influence of odorous substances on photo assessment [55]. Two hundred men and women were told to rate a photo of a male pe
