1. Katie Lighthall
Psychology/Pd. 1
May 1, 2014
Research Paper
Pheromones
History:
The idea that chemicals can communicate with individuals of the same
species is hardly a new concept. The firstresearch done on pheromones was
proven in the 19th
century by a French priest Henri Fabre, whoseinterest was in
the chemistry between butterflies. He discovered that the antennae of the
female butterfly are her “nose” and male butterflies search for the rightnose
during mating season. Originally, pheromones werecalled ecto-hormones, or
“messengers outsidethe body.” In 1959, two German scientists suggested that
the name pheromone beplaced together fromtwo Greek words: “homan,” to
carry, and “pherin,” to excite (Mueller, D. K., 2014) 5.
Research:
Further research provided conclusivescientific evidence for human
pheromones affecting women menstrualcycles. The prominent theory was well
known as McClintock Effect, which was discovered by Martha McClintock. She
concluded that “the synchronization of themenstrual cycles among female

2. friends and dormitory mates were caused by pheromones transmitted through
social interaction” (Vallejos, S. 2014) 1.
McClintock’s theory sparked interest for further studies to be conducted,
such as the demonstration of applying the sweatfrom one woman to the skin
above the upper lip of other women. Her theory proved that this is capable of
altering the other women’s menstrualcycles to be in synch with the firstwoman’s
(Herz, R. 2009) 2. Her studies also concluded that pheromones comein two
forms - primer, and releaser. Primer pheromones cause slow, long lasting
changes like hormonalchanges, and releaser pheromones producerapid effects,
such as mating. The menstruation study was a perfect example of a primer
pheromone—a physiologicalchange that occurs over time, and not suddenly like
releaser pheromones do.
Pheromones areprocessed through instinct, like breathing, rather than a
cognitive process. They do not have a “smell,” but something similar to that
which is wired and processed through a non-scentorgan systemcalled the
olfactory bulb. An intriguing study aboutpheromones of mothers connecting
them to their infants was carried out by Michael J. Russell of UCSF in 1976. Russell
asked ten mothers to wear a cotton pad in their bra for three hours. He then
tested the pads of strangemothers to the infant’s own mother to see if there was

3. a reaction. Seven out of ten of the babies responded only to the cotton pad worn
by their mother with a sucking motion. These results indicate that a baby can
detect its mother’s odor, and the mother unconsciously marks her baby with her
distinctive scent (Kaplan, M. 1992) 3.
In 2002, San Francisco StateUniversity psychologistNorma McCoy, PhD,
reported results of using pheromone-based perfumes. In her view, the studies
show that the pheromones work, even if it provides minimal evidence in a lab
study. The perfume has proven to work, especially with males. The males using
the perfumein her studies werefar morelikely to have sex than the ones who did
not wear the perfume (Benson, E. 2002) 4.
Opposition:
Scientists were once skeptical of McClintock’s theory on menstrual
synchronization. Itdid seem plausible that pheromones were responsible,
especially since one of the original definitions of the term described them as
"ectohormones," “substances thatworked between individuals in much the same
way that ‘endohormones,’ liketestosterone and estrogen, worked within them.”
The pheromones that shemay havebeen referencing were found to be
associated with underarmsecretions. This relates to the study where one’s arm-

4. pit sweatwas applied to the upper lip of another woman. This study fell shortof
identifying the chemicals responsible, but scientists agree that it may provide
evidence to the existence of human pheromones.
A substancefound in boar saliva and “copulins,” primate vaginalsecretions,
were thoughtto have triggered sexual behavior. Further studies showed that
these substances had minimal effects on humans, which tampered with the
excitement of the scientific community. Today, pheromone-based products are
created to boostone’s self-confidenceor sexual attractiveness. Pheromones are
proven to be existent and strong when choosing a sexual mate, although other
chemicals come into play (Benson, E. 2002) 4.

5. References:
1. Vallejos, S. (2014, January 1). TheHistory of Pheromones.
Retrieved May 9, 2014, from http://www.streetdirectory.com/etoday/the-
history-of-pheromones-upepja.html
2. Herz, R. (2009, June18). TheTruth About Pheromones: Part2.
Retrieved May 9, 2014, fromhttp://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/smell-
life/200906/the-truth-about-pheromones-part-2
3. Kaplan, M. (1992, January 1). Pheromones in Humans: Myth or Reality?
Retrieved May 9, 2014, from http://www.anapsid.org/pheromones.html
4. Benson, E. (2002, October). Pheromones, in context.
Retrieved May 9, 2014, from
http://www.apa.org/monitor/oct02/pheromones.aspx
5. Mueller, D. K. (2014, January 1). History of Pheromones.
Retrieved May 20, 2014, from https://www.insectslimited.com/history-of-
pheromones.php