Adaptationist models of human mating provide a useful framework for identifying subtle, biologically based mechanisms influencing cross-gender social interaction. In line with this framework, the current studies examined the extent to which olfactory cues to female ovulation—scents of women at the peak of their reproductive fertility—influence endocrinological responses in men. Men in the current studies smelled T-shirts worn by women near ovulation or far from ovulation (Studies 1 and 2) or control T-shirts not worn by anyone (Study 2). Men exposed to the scent of an ovulating woman subsequently displayed higher levels of testosterone than did men exposed to the scent of a nonovulating woman or a control scent. Hence, olfactory cues signaling women’s levels of reproductive fertility were associated with specific endocrinological responses in men—responses that have been linked to sexual behavior and the initiation of romantic courtship.

References

Aron, A., Norman, C.C., Aron, E.N., McKenna, C., Heyman, R. ( 2000 ). Couples’ shared participation in novel and arousing activities and experienced relationship quality . Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 78, 273 – 284 .

Google Scholar Crossref | Medline | ISI

Batty, J. ( 1978 ). Acute changes in plasma testosterone levels and their relation to measures of sexual behavior in the male house mouse (Mus musculus) . Animal Behaviour, 26, 349 – 357 .

Google Scholar Crossref | Medline | ISI

Beck, L.A., Clark, M.S. ( 2009 ). Offering more help than we seek . Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 45, 267 – 270 .

Google Scholar Crossref | ISI

Burley, N. ( 1979 ). Evolution of concealed ovulation . American Naturalist, 114, 835 – 858 .

Google Scholar Crossref | ISI

Buss, D.M. ( 1989 ). Sex differences in human mate preferences: Evolutionary hypotheses tested in 37 cultures . Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 12, 1 – 49 .

Google Scholar Crossref | ISI

Canoine, V., Fusani, L., Schlinger, B., Hau, M. ( 2007 ). Low sex steroids, high steroid receptors: Increasing the sensitivity of the nonreproductive brain . Developmental Neurobiology, 67, 57 – 67 .

Google Scholar Crossref | Medline | ISI

Carré, J.M., McCormick, C.M. ( 2008 ). Aggressive behavior and change in salivary testosterone concentrations predict willingness to engage in a competitive task . Hormones and Behavior, 54, 403 – 409 .

Google Scholar Crossref | Medline | ISI

Cerda-Molina, A.L., Hernandez-Lopez, L., Chavira, R., Cardenas, M., Paez-Ponce, D., Cervantes-De la Luz, H., Mondragón-Ceballos, R. ( 2006 ). Endocrine changes in male stumptailed macaques (Macaca arctoides) as a response to odor stimulation with vaginal secretions . Hormones and Behavior, 49, 81 – 87 .

Google Scholar Crossref | Medline | ISI

Dabbs, J.M. ( 1990 ). Salivary testosterone measurements: Reliability across hours, days, weeks . Physiology & Behavior, 48, 83 – 86 .

Google Scholar Crossref | Medline | ISI

Eastwick, P.W., Finkel, E.J. ( 2008 ). Sex differences in mate preferences revisited: Do people know what they initially desire in a romantic partner? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 94, 245 – 264 .

Google Scholar Crossref | Medline | ISI

Fehring, R.J., Schneider, M., Raviele, K. ( 2006 ). Variability in the phases of the menstrual cycle . Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic, & Neonatal Nursing, 35, 376 – 384 .

Google Scholar Crossref | Medline | ISI

Gangestad, S.W., Garver-Apgar, C.E., Simpson, J.A., Cousins, A.J. ( 2007 ). Changes in women’s mate preferences across the ovulatory cycle . Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 92, 151 – 163 .

Google Scholar Crossref | Medline | ISI

Gangestad, S.W., Haselton, M.G., Buss, D.M. ( 2006 ). Evolutionary foundations of cultural variation: An illustration using human mate preferences . Psychological Inquiry, 2, 75 – 95 .

Google Scholar Crossref | ISI

Gangestad, S.W., Simpson, J.A., Cousins, A.J., Garver-Apgar, C.E., Christensen, P.N. ( 2004 ). Women’s preferences for male behavioral displays change across the menstrual cycle . Psychological Science, 15, 203 – 207 .

Google Scholar SAGE Journals | ISI

Garver-Apgar, C.E., Gangestad, S.W., Thornhill, R. ( 2008 ). Hormonal correlates of women’s mid-cycle preference for the scent of symmetry . Evolution and Human Behavior, 29, 223 – 232 .

Google Scholar Crossref | ISI

Granger, D.A., Shirtcliff, E.A., Booth, A., Kivlighan, K.T., Schwartz, E.B. ( 2004 ). The “trouble” with salivary testosterone . Psychoneuroendocrinology, 29, 1229 – 1240 .

Google Scholar Crossref | Medline | ISI

Haselton, M.G., Gangestad, S.W. ( 2006 ). Conditional expression of women’s desires and men’s mate guarding across the ovulatory cycle . Hormones and Behavior, 49, 509 – 518 .

Google Scholar Crossref | Medline | ISI

Havlíček, J., Dvořáková, R., Bartoš, L., Flegr, J. ( 2006 ). Non-advertised does not mean concealed: Body odour changes across the menstrual cycle . Ethology, 112, 81 – 90 .

Google Scholar Crossref | ISI

Kenrick, D.T., Li, N.P., Butner, J. ( 2003 ). Dynamical evolutionary psychology: Individual decision rules and emergent social norms . Psychological Review, 110, 3 – 28 .

Google Scholar Crossref | Medline | ISI

Kuukasjärvi, S., Eriksson, C.J.P., Koskela, E., Mappes, T., Nissinen, K., Rantala, M.J. ( 2004 ). Attractiveness of women’s body odors over the menstrual cycle: The role of oral contraceptives and receiver sex . Behavioral Ecology, 15, 579 – 584 .

Google Scholar Crossref | ISI

Li, W., Moallem, I., Paller, K.A., Gottfried, J.A. ( 2007 ). Subliminal smells can guide social preferences . Psychological Science, 18, 1044 – 1049 .

Google Scholar SAGE Journals | ISI

Maner, J.K., Gailliot, M.T., Miller, S.L. ( 2009 ). The implicit cognition of relationship maintenance: Inattention to attractive alternatives . Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 45, 174 – 179 .

Google Scholar Crossref | ISI

Mazur, A., Booth, A. ( 1998 ). Testosterone and social dominance in men . Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 21, 353 – 397 .

Google Scholar Crossref | Medline | ISI

Mazur, A., Susman, E.J., Edelbrock, S. ( 1997 ). Sex differences in testosterone response to a video game contest . Evolution and Human Behavior, 18, 317 – 326 .

Google Scholar Crossref | ISI

McIntyre, M., Gangestad, S.W., Gray, P.B., Chapman, J.F., Burnham, T.C., O’Rourke, M.T., Thornhill, R. ( 2006 ). Romantic involvement often reduces men’s testosterone levels—but not always: The moderating role of extrapair sexual interest . Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 91, 642 – 651 .

Google Scholar Crossref | Medline | ISI

Pankevich, D.E., Baum, M.J., Cherry, J.A. ( 2004 ). Olfactory sex discrimination persists, whereas the preference for urinary odorants from estrous females disappears in male mice after vomeronasal organ removal . Journal of Neuroscience, 24, 9451 – 9457 .

Google Scholar Crossref | Medline | ISI

Puts, D.A. ( 2006 ). Cyclic variation in women’s preferences for masculine traits: Potential hormonal causes . Human Nature, 17, 114 – 127 .

Google Scholar Crossref | Medline | ISI

Roney, J.R., Lukaszewski, A.W., Simmons, Z.L. ( 2007 ). Rapid endocrine responses of young men to social interactions with young women . Hormones and Behavior, 52, 326 – 333 .

Google Scholar Crossref | Medline | ISI

Roney, J.R., Mahler, S.V., Maestripieri, D. ( 2003 ). Behavioral and hormonal responses of men to brief interactions with women . Evolution and Human Behavior, 24, 365 – 375 .

Google Scholar Crossref | ISI

Sadalla, E.K., Kenrick, D.T., Vershure, B. ( 1987 ). Dominance and heterosexual attraction . Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 52, 730 – 738 .

Google Scholar Crossref | ISI

Schultheiss, O.C., Campbell, K.L., McClelland, D.C. ( 1999 ). Implicit power motivation moderates men’s testosterone responses to imagined and real dominance success . Hormones and Behavior, 36, 234 – 241 .

Google Scholar Crossref | Medline | ISI

Schultheiss, O.C., Wirth, M.M., Stanton, S.J. ( 2004 ). Effects of affiliation and power motivation arousal on salivary progesterone and testosterone . Hormones and Behavior, 46, 592 – 599 .

Google Scholar Crossref | Medline | ISI

Schultheiss, O.C., Wirth, M.M., Torges, C.M., Pang, J.S., Villacorta, M.A., Welsh, K.M. ( 2005 ). Effects of implicit power motivation on men’s and women’s implicit learning and testosterone changes after social victory or defeat . Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 88, 174 – 188 .

Google Scholar Crossref | Medline | ISI

Scordato, E.S., Drea, C.M. ( 2007 ). Scents and sensibility: Information content of olfactory signals in the ringtailed lemur (Lemur catta) . Animal Behaviour, 73, 301 – 314 .

Google Scholar Crossref | ISI

Singh, D., Bronstad, P.M. ( 2001 ). Female body odour is a potential cue to ovulation . Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B, 268, 797 – 801 .

Google Scholar Crossref | Medline | ISI

Stoleru, S.G., Ennaji, A., Cournot, A., Spira, A. ( 1993 ). LH pulsatile secretion and testosterone blood levels are influenced by sexual arousal in human males . Psychoneuroendocrinology, 18, 205 – 218 .

Google Scholar Crossref | Medline | ISI

Thornhill, R., Gangestad, S.W. ( 1999 ). The scent of symmetry: A human sex pheromone that signals fitness? Evolution and Human Behavior, 20, 175 – 201 .

Google Scholar Crossref | ISI

Thornhill, R., Gangestad, S.W., Miller, R., Scheyd, G., McCollough, J.K., Franklin, M. ( 2003 ). Major histocompatibility complex genes, symmetry, and body scent attractiveness in men and women . Behavioral Ecology, 14, 668 – 678 .

Google Scholar Crossref | ISI

Vermeersch, H., T’Sjoen, G., Kaufman, J., Vincke, J. ( 2007 ). The role of testosterone in aggressive and non-aggressive risk-taking in adolescent boys . Hormones and Behavior, 53, 463 – 471 .

Google Scholar Crossref | Medline | ISI