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Influence of Androstenol and Androsterone on the evaluation of men of varying attractiveness levels.

R.E. Maiworm, W.U. Langthaler. Münster. Chemical Signals in Vertebraes, 1992.

INTRODUCTION
The components

of human axillary secretions, especially odoriferous steroids, may take part in human olfactory communication in a

manner analogous to the odours from specialized skin glands in animals (Labows et al.,1982). Filsinger & Fabes

(1985), for expample, suggest that some of them (especially androstenol, androstenone) may be putative human

pheromones. With regard to androstenol and androstenone, evidence has been found for aconnection between these

odoriferous substances and the covert or open behavior of the receivers (e.g., assessment of person, self-ratings,

choice of locations: cf. Kirk-Smith, 1978; Filsinger & Fabes, 1985; Benton & Wastell, 1986). However, it has not

been shown that such substances function as human pheromones and induce a definite behavior or physiological

response.

In contrast to androstenol, androsterone is a weakly androgenic steroid. As a part of steroid

metabolism in the skin, androsterone is metabolized from dihydroepiandrosterone (Sharp et al., 1976; Kaufmann et

al., 1990). Androsterone is found in lipids coating the axillary hair and may be secreted by sebaceous glands (Toth,

1983). Labows et al. (1979) found no free androsterone in fresh apocrine Becretion, although free androsterone was

found after the secretion was acted on by bacteria. Androsterone is also found in human urine. This steriod has a

musky odor and olfactory properties (e.g., Bubjective intensity) similar to those of androstenol (Kloek, 1961).



Little information is available about the influence of androsterone on the open or covert behavior of

humans. Gustavson et al. (1987) used androsterone as a control odor to androstenol when testing its influence on

human choice behavior (rest room stalls). They did not find any effects of androsterone on the behavior of either

men or women.

In a previous study, androstenol, as well as androstenone, was found to influence the

self-ratings of the mood of female subjects. Furthermore, Maiworm and Langthaler (1990) found an effect of

androstenone on women's assessment of photographs of moderately attractive men. This effect was related to the

stage of the menstrual cycle.

The present study examines the potential influence of

5-alpha-androst-16-en-alpha-ol and 3-alpha-hydroxy-5-alpha-androsten-17-one on the assessment of the attractiveness

and other attributes of men. We hypothesized that, compared to two control groups (namely solvent and no treatment),

androstenol and androsterone will influence women's subjective ratings of the attractiveness and other attributes

of photographed men. The effects of the substances were expected to vary with the degree of the attractiveness of

the men, as determined from peer ratings.

METHODS
The double-blind study, in which 102 female students

(mean age = 23.3 years) participated, was conducted by two female experimenters. The subjects were paid a moderate

amount of money to participate.

In an earlier study photographs of 60 men and women had been taken under

standardized conditions. The attractiveness had been assessed by 118 female and male students. For the pre6ent

study, we choose 5 men from this sample whose mean attractiveness scores covered the range of the attractivenss

scores of the sample; namely, a scarely attractive man (value 24), a less attractive man (value 48), a moderately

attractive man (value 53), and two highly attractive men (value 65, 72).

At the beginning of each session, a

standardized questionnaire was administered to assess each subject's state of mood (EWL; Jahnke & Debus, 1978). One

of the three test substances was app1ied to the upper lip of each of ten subjects. The olfactory stimuli were stored

in air-tight, 2.5 ml plastic containers. Each container held 1.5 ml of either androstenol, androstenol, androsterone

(1 mg/ml), or the control stimulus ethanol (99%, research grade). In one control condition, no test substance was

applied. The subject subsequently rated five randomly presented photographs of men, one by one, on 30 bipolar

adjective scales developed in the course of a former study (Maiworm & Langthaler, 1990), and on a 100-point

attractiveness scale which ranged from "1" (indicating "not attractive") to "100" (indicating "highly attractive").

After the assessment of the photographs, the questionnaire about the subject's mood state was again administered

and the subjects were interviewed (e.g., about menstrual cycle phase and oralcontracptive use). A multifactorial two

(experimental) by two (control) experimental design was used. The data were analyzed by a MANOVA with adjusted alpha

levels (SPSS; Statistical Package for Social Science; two factorial model and contrasts).

RESULTS
The

test substances and the phases of the menstrual cycle had an effect on the assessments (interaction, p < 0.006). The

use of oral contraceptives also influenced the evaluations (main effect, p < 0.034) and the phase of the menstrual

cycle (main effect p < 0.001). In accord with a previous study, the data showed that the assessment of men under the

influence of androstenol is related to menstrual cycle phase (p < 0.005; main effect). Relative to the third phase

(days 20-29), the evaluations concerning "open" (p < 0.05) were more positive during the first phase (days 1-9) and

the evaluations of "attractive" (p < 0.05) were more positive during the second phase (days 10-19). A relationship

between the influence of androsterone and menstrual cycle phase was present for the assessment "expressive" (p <

0.05 between the first and third and the second and third cycle phases). Androsterone was found to have a

significant impact on the subjects who rated the men as "warm" (p <0.01), "good" (p < 0.01), "masculine" (p < 0.05)

and "black" (p < 0.05), whereas androstenol significantly influenced the ratings of "black" (p. < 0.05). within one

of the control groups (no treatment), the assessment of the attributes "macho" was affected by the phase of the

menstrual cycle (p < 0.05). Androsterone raised the attractiveness ratings for the more attractive men, and lowered

the attractiveness ratings for the less attractive men. The ratings of the higher attractive men (photographs) were

more strongly influenced by the test substances than those of the scarcely or moderately attractive man (Table 1;

contrasts by MANOVA, t-tests, alpha level adjusted).

The subjects' ratings concerning the personality

profile and their mood states were within the range of values of the standard sample. A comparison (paired t-tests)

of the pre/post-test scores indicated that the women described themselves as less tired (p < 0.05), less sensitive

(p < 0.05), and less depressed (P < 0.05) under the androstenol condition at the end of the session than at the

beginning. within the androsterone condition, they also described themselves as less sensitivie (p < 0.05). At the

end of the test session the women described themselves as less-assured and more anxious under the androsterone

condition than under the control condition (p < 0.05).

DISCUSSION
The hypothesis concerning the influence

of androstenol and androsterone was confirmed. Both substances had an effect on the womens. subjective perception of

the attractiveness and other attributes of the photographed men, and this effect varied with the degree of

peer-rated attractivenss of the men. With respect to androsterone, this result was unexpected, since to our

knowledge this there is no mention of this phenomenon in the literature. However, we did not find a specific

pattern; factor analyses did not yield any components that explained a satisfactorily high percentage of the

variance. Since there was no significant difference in the ratings of the men between the control conditions

(ethanol, no treatment), androstenol and androsterone appear to have an impact on the assessments. Somehow, both

substances function as "levellers" by raising the evaluation of moderately attractive men and by lowering the

evaluation of the higher attractive man (tendency towards the mean). The effects of androstenol on the estimation of

other attributes were also found to be influenced by the menstrual cycle, which, in a previous study (Maiworm &

Langthaler, 1990), turned out to be more evident for androstenone. The men were evaluated much more negatively in

the third part of the menstrual cycle. Under the influence of both substances, the assessments of erotic attributes

(sexy, erotic) tended to be more negative, whereas the assessments of non-sexual attributes (e.g., emotional, warm,

sensitive, nice) tended to be more positive. Within the androstenol condition, the women described themselves as

being in a good mood (less depressed, active), whereas in the androsterone condition, they described themselves as

being less self-assured and courageous.

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