Pheromones

Pheromones: they're those chemical signals that are often associated with attraction. But there are [many:plenty] chemical signals we give off including ones that might signal alarm, aggression, or other emotions. For example, take [fear:anxiety] . If sweat contains compounds associated with fear, could someone smelling the sweat of a [frightened:friendly] person themselves wind up experiencing fear? To find out, researchers had male subjects watch two movies. One was [scary:bad] , and the other made viewers feel disgusted. The researchers then collected the participants' sweat. Female subjects then smelled the sweat, while the scientists recorded their facial expressions. And the women who [smelled:smiled] "fear sweat" actually produced fearful facial expressions. While those who smelled the "disgust sweat" made disgusted faces. The inference is that the chemical compounds impelled the female subjects to remotely experience the same emotions felt by the [sweaty:hefty] males. The study is in the journal Psychological Science.