Communication of gender from human axillary odors: Relationship to perceived intensity and hedonicity

Abstract

In an in vitro test situation, human observers estimated the relative intensity and pleasantness of human axillary odors using the method of magnitude estimation. In addition, the likely gender of the donor of each odor was also estimated. Under these test conditions, only a small proportion of the observers predicted the sex of the odor donor above chance levels. The results support the following conclusions: (1) male and female responses to axillary odors are generally similar in both magnitude and direction (regardless of the sex from which the odors are sampled); (2) the assignment of a gender referent is closely related to the perceived intensity and pleasantness of axillary odors, with the stronger and less pleasant odors being more frequently assigned to a male gender category; and (3) the intensity and pleasantness of axillary odors, on the average, are inversely related.