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Do human menstrual-cycle pheromones exist?

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Abstract

Research over the past 15 years indicates, contrary to earlier results, that women do not synchronize their menstrual cycles. If women do not synchronize their cycles, this implies there is no mechanism for synchronizing cycles. Since a pheromone mechanism of synchronization is the only plausible mechanism that has been proposed, it follows that that there are no pheromones that modulate the length of menstrual cycles. To test this hypothesis, eight studies were reviewed that reported pheromone effects on menstrual cycles, other behavior, or physiological correlates in women. The prediction was that serious problems would be found in each of these studies. As predicted, serious problems were found in all eight studies. Taken together, these results cast doubt on the existence of pheromones that modulate the length of menstrual cycles.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University of California, One Shields Ave., 95616, Davis, CA, USA

    Jeffrey C. Schank

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  1. Jeffrey C. Schank
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Correspondence to Jeffrey C. Schank.

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Jeff Schank is associate professor of psychology at the University of California, Davis. His main research interests are in computational and biorobotic modeling of group behavior and the development of sensorimotor behavior in animals.

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Schank, J.C. Do human menstrual-cycle pheromones exist?. Hum Nat 17, 448–470 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12110-006-1006-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12110-006-1006-y

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