Human Body Odour Composites Are Not Perceived More Positively than the Individual Samples

Fialová, Jitka; Sorokowska, Agnieszka; Roberts, S. Craig; Kubicová, Lydie; Havlı́ček, Jan

doi:10.1177/2041669518766367

Cited by 8 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 54 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The samples were rated using verbally anchored 7-point scales for their (i) pleasantness, (ii) attractiveness, (iii) masculinity and (iv) intensity. In the event that raters found any of the samples too weak to assess, they were asked to select "I cannot smell the sample" instead of using the rating scales (this occurred in 5.28% of cases, rate similar to previous studies, e.g., Fialová, Sorokowska, Roberts, Kubicová, & Havlíček, 2018); these ratings were not included in further analysis. Participants recorded their rating immediately after sniffing each stimulus, but the time spent sniffing was not restricted.…”

Section: Odour Rating Sessionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The effect of complete caloric intake restriction on human body odour quality

Fialová

Hoffmann²,

Roberts

et al. 2019

Physiology & Behavior

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Previous studies on various vertebrates have shown that quantity and quality of food intake affect odour attractiveness as perceived by potential mates. In humans, the quality of body odour is similarly affected by ingested foods, such as by variation in meat and garlic intake. Nevertheless, it is not known whether quantity of food has an impact on human body odour attractiveness. Thus, here we tested how 48 hours of complete caloric intake restriction affects the hedonic quality of human axillary odour. Odour samples (cotton pads fixed in both armpits and worn for 12 hours) were obtained from healthy female donors across three conditions: i) during their habitual food regime; ii) after 48 hours of complete caloric intake restriction (drinking water was provided), and iii) 72 hours after restoration of caloric intake. Axillary samples were assessed by male raters regarding their pleasantness, attractiveness, femininity, and intensity. We also collected blood samples to assess physiological changes due to dietary restriction (e.g., glucose, sodium, albumin, triacylglyceride assays) and anthropometric measurements at the same intervals as body odour samples. We found no differences in pleasantness, attractiveness and intensity between the odour samples collected at baseline and during complete caloric intake restriction. Interestingly, we found that body odours were rated more pleasant, more attractive and less intense after restoration of food intake as compared to the baseline and during caloric restriction. Our results suggest that restoration of food intake positively influences hedonic quality of human body odour which might thus provide cues to current fitness status and metabolic efficiency.

show abstract

Section: Odour Rating Sessionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The effect of complete caloric intake restriction on human body odour quality

Fialová

Hoffmann²,

Roberts

et al. 2019

Physiology & Behavior

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Usually this involves two or more days of refraining from eating foods that influence odour (e.g. garlic, Fialová et al, 2016 ), from drinking alcohol or even coffee (Mutic et al, 2016 ), and from smoking (Fialová et al, 2018 ) or being around smokers. Donors may even be asked to avoid excessive exercise for several days (e.g.…”

Section: Reasons For Cautionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Emotional expression in human odour

et al. 2022

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Recent work has demonstrated that human body odour alters with changing emotional state and that emotionally laden odours can affect the physiology and behaviour of people exposed to them. Here we review these discoveries, which we believe add to a growing recognition that the human sense of smell, and its potential role in social interactions, have been underappreciated. However, we also critically evaluate the current evidence, with particular focus on methodology and interpretation of emotional odour studies. We argue that while the evidence convincingly indicates that humans retain a capacity for olfactory communication of emotion, the extent to which this occurs in ordinary social interaction remains an open question. Future studies should place fewer restrictions on participant selection and lifestyle and adopt more realistic experimental designs. We also need to devote more consideration to underlying mechanisms and to recognise the constraints that these may place on effective communication. Finally, we outline some promising approaches to address these issues, and raise some broader theoretical questions that such approaches may help us to answer.

show abstract

“…Samples from the 4 most pleasant scoring odours were pooled to create a "high quality" (HQ) male odour, while pooling of the 4 lowest scoring odours formed a "low quality" (LQ) male odour. Pooling of such samples to create a composite odour minimises effects of individual differences in odour quality and preference while maintaining the average quality of the constituent samples (Fialová et al, 2018). To create these composites, each cotton pad was shredded into small pieces and mixed in equal parts with the other odours in either the HQ or LQ category, before being frozen in sealable bags.…”

Section: Odour Stimulimentioning

confidence: 99%

Contextualising courtship: Exploring male body odour effects on vocal modulation

Leongoméz

Sánchez

Vásquez-Amézquita

et al. 2021

Behavioural Processes

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Voice characteristics are important to communicate socially relevant information. Recent research has shown that individuals alter their voices depending on the context of social interactions and perceived characteristics of the audience, and this affects how they are perceived.Numerous studies have also shown that the presence of bodily odours can elicit psychological changes in people. Here, we tested whether the presence of male axillary odour would influence vocal modulations in courtship contexts. We analysed differences in vocal parameters and attractiveness ratings across 950 recordings from 80 participants as they responded to oppositesex target stimuli. Using these, we tested whether men's and women's vocal parameters and perceived attractiveness differed in the presence or absence of the odour. We expected women to speak with increased voice F0, and men to lower their pitch, when exposed to male body odour, especially if it were of high quality. However, neither the presence of male odour, its quality, nor the addition of androstadienone produced any consistent changes in vocal parameters.Nevertheless, rated stimulus attractiveness was predicted by F0 and especially F0 variability, suggesting that this is a key parameter in signalling attraction during human courtship, and supporting the idea that vocal modulations are context-sensitive.

show abstract

Human Body Odour Composites Are Not Perceived More Positively than the Individual Samples

Cited by 8 publications

References 54 publications

The effect of complete caloric intake restriction on human body odour quality

The effect of complete caloric intake restriction on human body odour quality

Emotional expression in human odour

Contextualising courtship: Exploring male body odour effects on vocal modulation

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About