Androstadienone reduces women’s mate-choice copying: The moderating role of intrasexual competition

Abstract

Androstadienone (AND), a putative human chemosignal, has been shown to influence women’s mate preferences, but whether it also shapes mate-choice strategies remains unclear. The present research tested the hypothesis that AND reduces women’s mate-choice copying, and that this inhibitory effect is moderated by intrasexual competition. Using a double-blind design, participants attended two sessions on consecutive days, inhaling either AND or a placebo (order randomized), and then completed a mate-choice copying task. In Study 1 (N = 54), AND reduced mate-choice copying among women low in intrasexual competition, whereas women high in intrasexual competition showed little copying under both AND and placebo conditions. Study 2 (N = 50) experimentally primed intrasexual competition and replicated these findings: when competition was primed, women displayed no mate-choice copying in either condition, whereas under non-competitive conditions AND suppressed copying. Across both studies, women exposed to AND reported a significantly lower perception of intimacy in romantic pairs compared to those in the placebo group. These findings provide the first evidence that AND regulates women’s mate-choice copying under conditions of low intrasexual competition.