Martha McClintock
Encyclopedia
Martha McClintock is an American psychologist
best known for her research on human pheromones and her theory of menstrual synchrony. She is the David Lee Shillinglaw Distinguished Service Professor in Psychology at the University of Chicago
and is the Founder and Director of the Institute for Mind and Biology.
McClintock was born in Pasadena, California, and obtained her Bachelor's degree from Wellesley College in 1970. It was while at Wellesley that she conducted a research study of menstrual synchrony in women living in a college dormitory. Her studied asserted that women living together in a close community without the presence of males synchronized their menstrual cycles with each other. The McClintock effect
of menstrual synchrony is named after this study, which was published in the journal Nature in 1971. ]
In 1992 H. Clyde Wilson, professor of anthropology at the University of Missouri published a critique of McClintock's research in Psychoneuroendochrinology. In that article, and in an article on human pheromones and menstruation published in Hormones and Behavior in 1987, Wilson analyzed the research and data collection methods McClintock and others used in their studies. He found significant errors in the researchers' mathematical calculations and data collection as well as an error in how the researchers defined synchrony. Wilson's own clinical research and his critical reviews of existing research demonstrated that menstrual synchrony in humans has yet to be proven.
McClintock obtained her PhD from the University of Pennsylvania
with Norman Adler
in 1974 and obtained a faculty position in the Department of Psychology at the University of Chicago
in 1976. She also holds faculty appointments in the Department of Comparative Human Development, the Committee on Evolutionary Biology, and the Committee on Neurobiology. She is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
, the Institute of Medicine
in the National Academy of Sciences
, and has received numerous awards and distinctions for her groundbreaking research.
In 1999, she founded the Institute for Mind and Biology at the University of Chicago, a research institute designed to foster transdisciplinary research in mind-body interactions and the biological basis of behavior
. This innovative Institute enabled the creation of the Center for Interdisciplinary Health Disparities Research (CIHDR), a multi million dollar initiative to explore and understand why African American women have a higher incidence of mortality from breast cancer than Caucasian women. McClintock is Co-Director of the Center.
Some of McClintock's other work include: Pheromonal regulation of the ovarian cycle: Enhancement, suppression and synchrony., Group mating in the domestic rat as a context for sexual selection: Consequences for analysis of sexual behavior and neuroendocrine responses., and A functional approach to the behavioral endocrinology of rodents.
Psychologist
Psychologist is a professional or academic title used by individuals who are either:* Clinical professionals who work with patients in a variety of therapeutic contexts .* Scientists conducting psychological research or teaching psychology in a college...
best known for her research on human pheromones and her theory of menstrual synchrony. She is the David Lee Shillinglaw Distinguished Service Professor in Psychology at the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
and is the Founder and Director of the Institute for Mind and Biology.
McClintock was born in Pasadena, California, and obtained her Bachelor's degree from Wellesley College in 1970. It was while at Wellesley that she conducted a research study of menstrual synchrony in women living in a college dormitory. Her studied asserted that women living together in a close community without the presence of males synchronized their menstrual cycles with each other. The McClintock effect
McClintock effect
Menstrual synchrony is a phenomenon reported in 1971 wherein the menstrual cycles of women who lived together reportedly became synchronized over time...
of menstrual synchrony is named after this study, which was published in the journal Nature in 1971. ]
In 1992 H. Clyde Wilson, professor of anthropology at the University of Missouri published a critique of McClintock's research in Psychoneuroendochrinology. In that article, and in an article on human pheromones and menstruation published in Hormones and Behavior in 1987, Wilson analyzed the research and data collection methods McClintock and others used in their studies. He found significant errors in the researchers' mathematical calculations and data collection as well as an error in how the researchers defined synchrony. Wilson's own clinical research and his critical reviews of existing research demonstrated that menstrual synchrony in humans has yet to be proven.
McClintock obtained her PhD from the University of Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
with Norman Adler
Norman Adler
Norman Adler through his research, teaching, writing, and academic administration, has made major contributions to the modern study of biological psychology and in American higher education, having helped develop the fields that are now labeled behavioral neurobiology and evolutionary psychology...
in 1974 and obtained a faculty position in the Department of Psychology at the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
in 1976. She also holds faculty appointments in the Department of Comparative Human Development, the Committee on Evolutionary Biology, and the Committee on Neurobiology. She is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
American Academy of Arts and Sciences
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences is an independent policy research center that conducts multidisciplinary studies of complex and emerging problems. The Academy’s elected members are leaders in the academic disciplines, the arts, business, and public affairs.James Bowdoin, John Adams, and...
, the Institute of Medicine
Institute of Medicine
The Institute of Medicine is a not-for-profit, non-governmental American organization founded in 1970, under the congressional charter of the National Academy of Sciences...
in the National Academy of Sciences
United States National Academy of Sciences
The National Academy of Sciences is a corporation in the United States whose members serve pro bono as "advisers to the nation on science, engineering, and medicine." As a national academy, new members of the organization are elected annually by current members, based on their distinguished and...
, and has received numerous awards and distinctions for her groundbreaking research.
In 1999, she founded the Institute for Mind and Biology at the University of Chicago, a research institute designed to foster transdisciplinary research in mind-body interactions and the biological basis of behavior
Behavior
Behavior or behaviour refers to the actions and mannerisms made by organisms, systems, or artificial entities in conjunction with its environment, which includes the other systems or organisms around as well as the physical environment...
. This innovative Institute enabled the creation of the Center for Interdisciplinary Health Disparities Research (CIHDR), a multi million dollar initiative to explore and understand why African American women have a higher incidence of mortality from breast cancer than Caucasian women. McClintock is Co-Director of the Center.
Some of McClintock's other work include: Pheromonal regulation of the ovarian cycle: Enhancement, suppression and synchrony., Group mating in the domestic rat as a context for sexual selection: Consequences for analysis of sexual behavior and neuroendocrine responses., and A functional approach to the behavioral endocrinology of rodents.
See also
- AndrostenoneAndrostenoneAndrostenone is a steroid found in both male and female sweat and urine. It is also found in boar's saliva, and in celery cytoplasm. Androstenone was the first mammalian pheromone to be identified. It is found in high concentrations in the saliva of male pigs, and, when sniffed by a female pig...
- EstratetraenolEstratetraenolEstratetraenol, also known as estra-1,3,5,16-tetraen-3-ol, is a chemical compound produced by women that has been described as having pheromone-like activities in primates, including humans...
- PheromonePheromoneA pheromone is a secreted or excreted chemical factor that triggers a social response in members of the same species. Pheromones are chemicals capable of acting outside the body of the secreting individual to impact the behavior of the receiving individual...
- NeuroendocrinologyNeuroendocrinologyNeuroendocrinology is the study of the extensive interactions between the nervous system and the endocrine system, including the biological features of the cells that participate, and how they functionally communicate...
- Biopsychology