Humans select mates with similar BODY ODOUR – except for women who take hormonal contraceptives

How being on the pill could affect how you pick a partner: Humans select mates with similar BODY ODOUR — except for women who take hormonal contraceptives, study claims

  • Researchers took body odour samples from 30 heterosexual Scottish couples
  • They then got volunteers to smell paired odour samples and rank the similarities 
  • Couples were perceived as naturally smelling similar than random pairings did
  • Use of similar-smelling fragranced deodorants did not have an effect, however 
  • Unlike women, men appear happier with partners who smell more like them 

Forget the age-old idiom that opposites attract as researchers discover that people are more romantically interested in those who naturally smell like us.

Couples from Scotland gave body odour samples both with and without fragranced deodorant, with other participants then ranking pairs of smells by similarity.

Researchers not only found that we are attracted to people with similar odours to ourselves, but that certain contraceptives can alter this perception.

Unlike natural body odour, however, the use of similarly fragranced deodorants did not appear to play a role in partner selection. 

Forget the age-old idiom that opposites attract — for researchers have sniffed out the truth that we tend to prefer people who naturally smell like us (stock)

WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT BODY ODOUR?

All animals — including humans — have a particular body odour.

Our smell is largely governed by genetics, but can be affected by diseases and physiological conditions.

Hot weather, exercise and medications can also alter the way we smell. 

Human scents may have played a more important role for our early ancestors.

While previous research suggested that we are more attracted to people that smell dissimilar to us, new findings suggest otherwise.  

Similarly, contrary to conventional thought, smell appears more important to men than women.  

The research, led by behavioural evolution expert Caroline Allen of the University pf Newcastle, took body odour samples from 30 heterosexual couples from Scotland who had all been in romantic relationships for at least six months.

The couples shared scent samples over two consecutive days, on the first of which they were not banned from using fragranced products, while on the second they were allowed to wear their usual deodorant.

Different participants were then asked to smell pairs of the donated odour samples — both from genuine couples and randomised pairings — and how similar the samples smelt to each other.

Researchers found that the natural body odours of real partners were reported to be more similar that samples taken from random pairs. 

‘Our results suggest an affinity for partners with similar rather than dissimilar odours,’ Dr Allen and her colleagues wrote in their paper.

Researchers who study attraction refer to preferences for similar partners as being ‘assortative’.

‘Our study indicates that odour preferences follow the same assortative rule as has been demonstrated for many other partner attributes, including physical traits such as face shape.’

The same trend, however, did not apply to samples taken after the couples had used fragranced deodorant, suggesting that our bodies’ natural odours are key.

The researchers also investigated how content with their relationship each of the couples appeared to be, finding that unlike the women, men reported being more happy with their relationship the more similar their partner smelt to them.

Unlike natural body odour, however, the use of similarly fragranced deodorants did not appear to play a role in partner selection

Unlike natural body odour, however, the use of similarly fragranced deodorants did not appear to play a role in partner selection

During the study, participants were instructed to avoid exercise, eating strong smelling foods and sharing a bed — all of which would have had the potential to alter their own scents.

Additionally, the researchers selected the participating couples such that half of the pairs had met while the woman had been using hormonal contraceptives like the pill, or the implant.

The team were able to validate the suggestion made be previous studies that such contraceptives can alter initial perceptions of smell and therefore potentially impact partner choice — with couples using such contraceptives likely to smell less similar.

The full findings of the study were published in the journal Physiology & Behavior. 

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