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Effects of fragrance on female sexual arousal and mood across the menstrual cycle

Effects of fragrance on female sexual arousal and mood across the menstrual cycle
Effects of fragrance on female sexual arousal and mood across the menstrual cycle
The effects of fragrance on sexual response in women were investigated using subjective and physiological measures of sexual arousal and of mood. Responses were obtained from female participants in three different fragrance conditions (female fragrance, male fragrance, and a “blank” or neutral substance), as they viewed erotic and sexually neutral films, and fantasized about sexual situations. Each woman was tested twice: during the midfollicular and periovulatory phases of her menstrual cycle. Menstrual cycle phase effects were apparent; self-report data indicated greater sexual arousal and more positive mood during the periovulatory than during the follicular phase. Results demonstrated a positive effect of the male fragrance on genital arousal during erotic fantasy, but this finding was apparent only during the follicular phase testing session. This effect did not appear to be mediated by any effects of fragrance on mood.
0048-5772
76-84
Graham, Cynthia A.
ac400331-f231-4449-a69b-ec9a477224c8
Janssen, Erick
65bc29b2-0975-4841-842d-22049eb356e6
Sanders, Stephanie A.
bb4ce9a1-0d94-4fe9-9113-f2ac41ec7961
Graham, Cynthia A.
ac400331-f231-4449-a69b-ec9a477224c8
Janssen, Erick
65bc29b2-0975-4841-842d-22049eb356e6
Sanders, Stephanie A.
bb4ce9a1-0d94-4fe9-9113-f2ac41ec7961

Graham, Cynthia A., Janssen, Erick and Sanders, Stephanie A. (2000) Effects of fragrance on female sexual arousal and mood across the menstrual cycle. Psychophysiology, 37 (1), 76-84. (doi:10.1111/1469-8986.3710076).

Record type: Article

Abstract

The effects of fragrance on sexual response in women were investigated using subjective and physiological measures of sexual arousal and of mood. Responses were obtained from female participants in three different fragrance conditions (female fragrance, male fragrance, and a “blank” or neutral substance), as they viewed erotic and sexually neutral films, and fantasized about sexual situations. Each woman was tested twice: during the midfollicular and periovulatory phases of her menstrual cycle. Menstrual cycle phase effects were apparent; self-report data indicated greater sexual arousal and more positive mood during the periovulatory than during the follicular phase. Results demonstrated a positive effect of the male fragrance on genital arousal during erotic fantasy, but this finding was apparent only during the follicular phase testing session. This effect did not appear to be mediated by any effects of fragrance on mood.

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Published date: 2000
Organisations: Psychology

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 206937
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/206937
ISSN: 0048-5772
PURE UUID: 4fb6d9a1-a394-4851-b0b0-e61e44fcc3bf
ORCID for Cynthia A. Graham: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-7884-599X

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Date deposited: 17 Jan 2012 16:06
Last modified: 21 Mar 2024 02:47

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Contributors

Author: Erick Janssen
Author: Stephanie A. Sanders

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