Effect of Copulins on Rating of Female Attractiveness, Mate-Guarding, and Self-Perceived Sexual Desirability
Olfaction and chemical signaling play an important role in the mating behaviors of many taxa, yet there is minimal empirical research on human putative pheromones. A mixture of five volatile fatty acids secreted vaginally, identified and named “copulins,” significantly increase in concentration duri...
| Main Authors: | , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
SAGE Publishing
2016-04-01
|
| Series: | Evolutionary Psychology |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1177/1474704916643328 |
| _version_ | 1819082451382697984 |
|---|---|
| author | Megan N. Williams Amy Jacobson |
| author_facet | Megan N. Williams Amy Jacobson |
| author_sort | Megan N. Williams |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Olfaction and chemical signaling play an important role in the mating behaviors of many taxa, yet there is minimal empirical research on human putative pheromones. A mixture of five volatile fatty acids secreted vaginally, identified and named “copulins,” significantly increase in concentration during the follicular phase and decrease in concentration during the luteal phase in nonpill using women. Men exposed to copulins exhibit an increase in testosterone, are inhibited in discriminating the attractiveness of women’s faces, and behave less cooperatively. According to Anisogamy, Sexual Selection and Parental Investment Theory, mammalian males, having low cost and high benefit from any copulatory interaction, may adaptively utilize any useful cues to identifying ovulating females and adjust their behavior accordingly in order to maximize their potential reproductive success. In the current study, we attempted a replication of Jütte and Grammer’s finding indicating copulins inhibit the ability of men to discriminate attractiveness of women’s faces, and we examined the role of copulins in self-reported mate-guarding behaviors and self-perceived sexual desirability. We utilized a randomized placebo-controlled design and as predicted, results indicated men exposed to copulins were more likely to rate themselves as sexually desirable to women and, on average, the copulin group rated women’s faces as more attractive than controls. There were no significant findings with mate guarding. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-21T20:16:53Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-c822188cbe144206864671251aa8e90a |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1474-7049 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-21T20:16:53Z |
| publishDate | 2016-04-01 |
| publisher | SAGE Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Evolutionary Psychology |
| spelling | doaj.art-c822188cbe144206864671251aa8e90a2022-12-21T18:51:36ZengSAGE PublishingEvolutionary Psychology1474-70492016-04-011410.1177/147470491664332810.1177_1474704916643328Effect of Copulins on Rating of Female Attractiveness, Mate-Guarding, and Self-Perceived Sexual DesirabilityMegan N. Williams0Amy Jacobson1 Psychology Department, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA Department of Anthropology, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, USAOlfaction and chemical signaling play an important role in the mating behaviors of many taxa, yet there is minimal empirical research on human putative pheromones. A mixture of five volatile fatty acids secreted vaginally, identified and named “copulins,” significantly increase in concentration during the follicular phase and decrease in concentration during the luteal phase in nonpill using women. Men exposed to copulins exhibit an increase in testosterone, are inhibited in discriminating the attractiveness of women’s faces, and behave less cooperatively. According to Anisogamy, Sexual Selection and Parental Investment Theory, mammalian males, having low cost and high benefit from any copulatory interaction, may adaptively utilize any useful cues to identifying ovulating females and adjust their behavior accordingly in order to maximize their potential reproductive success. In the current study, we attempted a replication of Jütte and Grammer’s finding indicating copulins inhibit the ability of men to discriminate attractiveness of women’s faces, and we examined the role of copulins in self-reported mate-guarding behaviors and self-perceived sexual desirability. We utilized a randomized placebo-controlled design and as predicted, results indicated men exposed to copulins were more likely to rate themselves as sexually desirable to women and, on average, the copulin group rated women’s faces as more attractive than controls. There were no significant findings with mate guarding.https://doi.org/10.1177/1474704916643328 |
| spellingShingle | Megan N. Williams Amy Jacobson Effect of Copulins on Rating of Female Attractiveness, Mate-Guarding, and Self-Perceived Sexual Desirability Evolutionary Psychology |
| title | Effect of Copulins on Rating of Female Attractiveness, Mate-Guarding, and Self-Perceived Sexual Desirability |
| title_full | Effect of Copulins on Rating of Female Attractiveness, Mate-Guarding, and Self-Perceived Sexual Desirability |
| title_fullStr | Effect of Copulins on Rating of Female Attractiveness, Mate-Guarding, and Self-Perceived Sexual Desirability |
| title_full_unstemmed | Effect of Copulins on Rating of Female Attractiveness, Mate-Guarding, and Self-Perceived Sexual Desirability |
| title_short | Effect of Copulins on Rating of Female Attractiveness, Mate-Guarding, and Self-Perceived Sexual Desirability |
| title_sort | effect of copulins on rating of female attractiveness mate guarding and self perceived sexual desirability |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1177/1474704916643328 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT megannwilliams effectofcopulinsonratingoffemaleattractivenessmateguardingandselfperceivedsexualdesirability AT amyjacobson effectofcopulinsonratingoffemaleattractivenessmateguardingandselfperceivedsexualdesirability |