Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Human Olfactory Communications

  • Chapter
Chemical Signals in Vertebrates 3

Abstract

It has been known for some time that most mammals use odors as a means of intraspecific communication (see Cheal and Sprott, 1971; Bronson, 1971; Doty, 1976; Shorey, 1976; Müller-Schwarze and Mozell, 1977, Mykytowycz, 1977; for reviews). However, until recently little attention has been paid to the possibility that humans might also use smell as a means of communication. This review examines the areas of olfactory communication that are known to be of significance in animals: individual recognition, scent marking, sexual identification, sexual attraction, and reproductive synchrony, and discusses the evidence for human olfactory communication in each of these areas. Suggestions are made for further research in this field.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  • Alexander, R. D., and Noonan, K. M., 1979, Concealment of ovulation, parental care, and human social evolution, in: N. Chagnon, and W. Irons (eds.),“Evolutionary Biology and Human Social Behavior,” North Scituate, Mass., Duxbury.

    Google Scholar 

  • Alexander, G., 1978, Odour and the recognition of lambs by Merino ewes, Appl. Anim. Ethol., 4: 153.

    Google Scholar 

  • Barrette, C., 1977, Scent marking in captive muntjacs, Muntiacus reevesi, Anim. Behay., 35:536.

    Google Scholar 

  • Beach, F. A., 1976, Sexual attractivity, proceptivity, and receptivity in female mammals, Horm. Behay., 7:105.

    Google Scholar 

  • Beach, F. A.,and Gilmore, R.W., 1949, Response of male dogs to urine from females in heat, F. Mammal., 30: 391.

    Google Scholar 

  • Beauchamp, G. K., Doty, R. L., Moulton, D. G., and Mugford, R. A., 1976, The pheromone concept in mammalian chemical communication: a critique, in: R.L. Doty (Ed.), “Mammalian Olfaction, Reproductive Processes and Behavior,” New York, Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Benshoof, L., and Thornhill, R., 1979, The evolution of monogamy and concealed ovulation in humans, Int. J. Soc. Biol. Struct., 2:94.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brill, A. A., 1932, The sense of smell in neuroses and psychoses, Psychoanalytic Qu., 1: 7.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brooksbank, B. W. L., Brown, R., and Gustafsson, J. A., 1979, The detection of 5a-androst-l6-en-3a-ol in human male axillary sweat, Experientia 30: 864.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bronson, F. H., 1970, Rodent pheromones, Biol. Reprod., 4:344. Butler, H., 1974, Evolutionary trends in primate cycles, Contributions Primatol., 3: 2.

    Google Scholar 

  • Carpenter, G., 1974, Mother’s face and the newborn, New Sci., 21 March, 742.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cheal, M. L., and Sprott, R. L., 1971, Social olfaction: a review of the role of olfaction in a variety of animal behaviors, Psychol. Rep., 29:195.

    Google Scholar 

  • Comfort, A., 1974, The likelihood of human pheromones, in: M. Birch (Ed.), “Pheromones. Frontiers of Biology,” 32: 386.

    Google Scholar 

  • Conaway, C. H., and Sade, D. S., 1965, The seasonal spermatogenic cycle in free ranging rhesus monkeys, Folia Primat., 3: 1.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cowley, J. J., Johnson, A. L. and Brooksbank, B. W. L., 1977, The effect of two odorous compounds on performance in an assessment-of-people test, Psychoneuroendocrinol., 2:159. Darwin, C., 1877, Mind, 7: 282.

    Google Scholar 

  • Doty, R. L., (Ed.), 1976a, “Mammalian Olfaction, Reproductive Processes and Behavior,” New York, Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Epple, G., 1974, Olfactory communication in South American primates, in: W. S. Cain (Ed.), “Odors: Evaluation, Utilization, and Control,” Annals New York Acad. Sci., 237: 261.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ellis, H., 1905, “Sexual Selection in Man,” v. 4, New York, Davis. Graham, C. A., and McGrew, W. C., 1980, Menstrual synchrony in female undergraduates living on a coeducational campus, Psychoneuroendocrinol., 5:245.

    Google Scholar 

  • Grau, G., 1976, Olfaction and reproduction in ungulates, in: R. L. Doty (Ed.), “Mammalian Olfaction, Reproductive Processes and Behavior,” New York, Academic Press. Goldfoot, D. A., 1981, Olfaction, sexual behavior, and the pheromone hypothesis in rhesus monkeys: a critique, Amer. Zool., 21: 153.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hall, K. R. L., 1962, The sexual, agonistic and derived social behavior patterns of the wild chacma baboon, Papio ursinus, Proc. Zool., Society London 139:238.

    Google Scholar 

  • Harrington, J. P., 1975, Olfactory communication in Lemur fulvus in: R. D. Martin, G. A. Doyle, and A. C. Walker ( Eds.), “Prosimian Behavior,” Duckworth, Cloucester Crescent.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hausfater, G., 1975, Dominance and reproduction in baboons (Papio cynocephalus): A quantitative analysis, “Contributions to Primatology,” 12 S. Darger, Basel.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hess, E. H., 1973, “Imprinting: Early Experience and the Developmental Psychobiology of Attachment,” New York, Van Nostrand Reinhold.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hong, K. M. and Townes, B. D., 1976, Infants’ attachment to inanimate objects: a cross cultural study, J. Am. Acad. Child Psychiat., 15: 49.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hurley, H. J., and Shelley, W. B., 1960, “The Human Apocrine Sweat Gland in Health and Disease,” Springfield, Thomas.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hold, B., and Schleidt, M., 1977, The importance of human odour in non-verbal communication, Z. Tierpsychol., 43:225.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hopson, J., 1979, “Scent Signals: The Silent Language of Sex,” New York, William Morrow.

    Google Scholar 

  • James, W. H., 1971, The fecundability of U. S. women, Popul. Stud., 27:493.

    Google Scholar 

  • Johnston, R. E., 1975, Scent marking by male hamsters, Z. Tierpsychol., 37:75.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kaplan, J., 1977, Perceptual properties of attachment in surrogatereared and mother-reared squirrel monkeys, in: S. Chevalier Skolnikoff and F. E. Poirier (Eds.), “Primate Bio-Social Development: Biological, Social and Ecological Determinants,” New York: Garland.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kaplan, J., and Russell, M. J., 1974, Olfactory recognition in the infant squirrel monkey, Develop. Psychobiol., 7:15.

    Google Scholar 

  • Keverne, E. B., 1980, Olfaction in the behaviour of non-human primates, Symp. Zool. Soc. Lond., 45:313.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kirk-Smith, M., Booth, D. A., Carroll, D., and Davies, P., 1978, Human social attitudes affected by androstenol, Res. Commun. Psychol. Psychiat. Behay., 3:379.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kuno, Y., 1934, “The Physiology of Human Perspiration;’ London, Churchill.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lawless, H. T., and Cain, W. S., 1975, Recognition memory for odours, Chem. Senses Flavor., 1:331.

    Google Scholar 

  • Leon, M., and Moltz, H., 1972, The development of the pheromonal bond in the albino rat, Physiol. Behay., 8:683.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lipsitt, L. P., Engen, T., and Kaye, H., 1963, Developmental changes in the olfactory threshold of the neonate, Child Dev., 34: 371.

    Google Scholar 

  • McBurney, D. H., Levine, J. M., and Cavanaugh, P. H., 1977, Psycho-physical and social ratings of human body odor, Pers. Soc. Psychol. Bull., 3:135.

    Google Scholar 

  • McClintock, M. K., 1971, Menstrual synchrony and suppression, Nature, 229: 244.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McCollough, P. A., Owen, J. W. and Pollak, E., 1981, Does androstenol affect emotion,? Ethol. Sociobiol., 2:85.

    Google Scholar 

  • MacFarlane, A., 1975, Olfaction in the development of social preferences in the neonate, in: “The Human Neonate in Parent-Infant Interaction,” Ciba Found. Symp., Amsterdam, 33: 103.

    Google Scholar 

  • Michael, R. P., Bonsall, R. W., and Zumpe, D., 1976, “Lack of effects of vaginal fatty acids, etc.”: A reply to Goldfoot et al., Hormones and Behay., 7: 365.

    Google Scholar 

  • Müller-Schwarze, D., 1974, Social functions of various scent glands in certain ungulates and the problems encountered in experimental studies of scent communication, in: V. Geist and F. Walther (Eds.), “The Behaviour of Ungulates and Its Relation to Management,” New Series No. 24, Morges, Switz.: IUCN Publications.

    Google Scholar 

  • Müller-Schwarze, D., 1974, Olfactory recognition of species, groups, individuals and physiological states among mammals, in: M. C. Birch ( Ed.) “Pheromones,” Amsterdam: North Holland.

    Google Scholar 

  • Müller-Schwarze, D., and Mozell, M. J. (Eds.), 1977, “Chemical Signals In Vertebrates,” New York, Plenum Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mykytowycz, R., 1977, Olfaction in relation to reproduction in domestic animals, in: Müller-Schwarze, D. and Mozell, M. M. ( Eds.), “Chemical Signals In Vertebrates,” New York, Plenum Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mykytowycz, R., 1968, Territorial marking by rabbits, Sci. Amer., 218:116.

    Google Scholar 

  • Passman, R. H., and Weisberg, P., 1975, Mothers and blankets as agents for promoting play and exploration by children in a novel environment: the effects of social and nonsocial attachment objects, Develop. Psychol., 11:170.

    Google Scholar 

  • Porter, R. H., and Moore, J. D., 1981, Human kin recognition by olfactory cues, Physiol. and Behay., 27: 493.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pratt, K. C., Nelson,’ A. K., and Sun, K. S., 1930, “The Behavior of the Newborn Infant,” Columbus, Ohio State University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Quadagno, D. M., Shuveita, H. E., Deck, J., and Francoeur, D., 1981, Influence of male social contacts, exercise and all-female living conditions on the menstrual cycle, Psychoneuroendocrinol., 6: 339.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ralls, K., 1971, Mammalian scent marking, Science, 171:443. Rogel, M. J., 1978, A critical evaluation of the possibility of higher primate reproductive and sexual pheromones, Psychol. Bull., 85: 810.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rosenblatt, J. S., 1972, Learning in newborn kittens, Sci. Amer., 227:18.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rosenblum, L., 1968, Some aspects of female reproductive physiology in the squirrel monkey, in: L. A. Rosenblum and R.W. Cooper ( Eds.) “The Squirrel Monkey,” New York, Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rowell, T. E., and Dixson, A. F., 1975, Changes in social organization during the breeding season of wild talapoin monkeys, J. Reprod. Fert., 43:419.

    Google Scholar 

  • Russell, M. J., Mendelson, T., and Peeke, H. V. S., 1982, Mothers’ identification of their infants’ odors, In preparation. Russell, M. J., 1976, Human olfactory communication, Nature, 260: 520.

    Google Scholar 

  • Russell, M. J., Switz, G. M., and Thompson, K., 1980, Olfactory influences on the human menstrual cycle, Pharmac. Biochem. Behay., 13:737.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sastry, S. D., Buck, K. T., Janak, J., Dressler, M., and Preti, G., 1980, Volatiles emitted by humans, in: G. R. Waller and O. C.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dermer (Eds.), “Biochemical Applications of Mass Spectrometry, First Supplementary Volume,” New York, John Wiley and Sons.

    Google Scholar 

  • Satli, M. A., and Aron, C., 1976, New data on olfactory control of estral receptivity of female rats, Compte rendu hebdomadaire des séances de 1“Academie des Sciences, Paris, 282: 875.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schleidt, M., Hold, M., and Attili, G., 1981, A cross-cultural study on the attitude towards personal odors, J. Chem. Ecol., 7: 19.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schleidt, M., 1980, Personal odor and nonverbal communication, Ethol. Sociobiol., 1:225.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schaal, B., Montagner, H., Hertling, E., Bolzoni, S., Moyse, A., and Quichon, R., 1980, Les stimulations olfactives dans les relations entre l’enfant et la mère, Reprod. Nutr. Develop., 20: 843

    Google Scholar 

  • Schulz, C., 1982, Peanuts, United Feature Syndicate, in: San Francisco Chronicle.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shelley, W. B., and H. J., 1953, The physiology of the human axillary apocrine sweat gland, J. Invest. Dermatol., 20:285.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shorey, H. H., 1976, “Animal Communication by Pheromones,” New York Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Spitz, C. J., Gold, A. R., and Adams, D. B., 1975, Cognitive and hormonal factors affecting coital frequency, Arch. Sex. Behay.-, 4:249.

    Google Scholar 

  • Strassmann, B. I., 1981, Sexual selection, parental care, and concealed ovulation in humans, Ethol. Sociobiol., 2:31.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stoddart, D. M., 1980, “The Ecology of Vertebrate Olfaction,” New York, Chapman and Hall.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vandenbergh, J. C., 1975, Acceleration and inhibition of puberty in female mice by pheromones, J. Reprod. Fert. Suppl., 19:411.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vandenbergh, J. G., and Vessey, S., 1968, Seasonal breeding of free ranging rhesus monkeys and related ecological factors, J. Reprod. Fert., 15:71.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wallace, P., 1977, Individual discrimination of humans by odor, Physiol. and Behay., 19: 577.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Walton, A.H., 1958, “Aphrodisiacs: From Legend to Prescription,” Westport, Connecticut, Associated Booksellers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Whitten, W. K., 1969, Mammalian pheromones, in C. Pfaffmann (ed.), “Olfaction and Taste: Proceedings of the Third International Symposium,” New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Whitten, W. K., and Bronson, F. H., 1970, The role of pheromones in mammalian reproduction, in: J. W. Johnson et al. (eds.), “Advances in Chemoreception I: Communication by Chemical Signals,” New York, Appleton-Century-Crofts.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wiener, H., 1966, External chemical messengers: I. Emission and reception in man, N. Y. State J. Med., 66: 3153.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wilson, E. O., 1963, Pheromones, Sci. Am., 208:100.

    Google Scholar 

  • Goodall, J., 1971, “In the Shadow of Man,” Boston, Houghton-Mifflin.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Brain-Behavior Research Center, University of California, Eldridge, California, 95431, USA

    Michael J. Russell

Authors
  1. Michael J. Russell
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. State University of New York, Syracuse, New York, USA

    Dietland Müller-Schwarze  & Robert M. Silverstein  & 

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 1983 Springer Science+Business Media New York

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Russell, M.J. (1983). Human Olfactory Communications. In: Müller-Schwarze, D., Silverstein, R.M. (eds) Chemical Signals in Vertebrates 3. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-9652-0_17

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-9652-0_17

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4757-9654-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4757-9652-0

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation