Do Pheromones Really Work?

Pheromones are unseen chemical messages that can be perceived between insects and also humans. One theory, described in "Jacobsen's Organ" by Lyall Watson, states that humans have a specialized internal organ inside the nose that detects pheromones.

Identification

• According to Watson, Jacobsen's organ is a vomeronasal organ hidden inside the nose and is responsible for detecting pheromones. People produce pheromones on the skin when they sweat and it mixes with sebum, which is an oily, waxy substance that the skin produces.

Features

• Pheromones are produced in especially large quantities on the scalp, in the underarms, in the groin and in areas where hair grows on the body.

Benefits

• In a 2002 study published in "Physiological Behavior," college-aged women who added a pheromone product to their perfume experienced a 74 percent increase in three or more of seven social-sexual indicators measured in the study. Researchers stated that the pheromones increased the "sexual attractiveness" of the women to men (see Resources).

Misconceptions

• The idea that producing pheromones is the only consideration for attracting others is inaccurate. Evolutionary psychologists say that if we are repelled by the smell of another person, it is most likely because our DNA is more similar than different. This may have been a protective mechanism to prevent in-breeding when birth records were not accurately maintained.

Theories/Speculation

• A controversial subject among scientists and researchers, pheromones are what attract or repel us in a social setting or set us at rest or alert in a business one.