Odor Perception

Modified: 2020-03-18

The visual world provides us with some strong examples of the relationship between perception and sensation. The odor world, however, is much more difficult for us to talk about. One problem is that our language is not rich in words about odor. For example, try to describe to someone how your favorite food smells. You should find that task very difficult. Cain's (1982) study made that task easier for subjects. Rather than ask subjects to identify odors abstractly (e.g., using words like, "oily", "foul", and "goaty"), subjects were allowed to smell common, everyday objects, and then to pick them out again while blindfolded.

That process revealed that the objects listed were the easiest to identify. Where the brand names are listed, they were important. As you read the list, you should be able to imagine a smell image of the object. Women were better at identifying odors than men, but that was largely interpreted as a training difference. Women in our culture have more experience at identifying and discriminating odors. There were a few odors, however, that men identified better. They included bourbon, horseradish, and Brut aftershave.

  1. Johnson's Baby Powder
  2. Chocolate
  3. Coconut
  4. Crayola crayons
  5. Mothballs
  6. Ivory soap
  7. Vick's Vaporub
  8. Bazooka Gum
  9. Coffee
  10. Caramel
Reference

Cain, W. S. (1982). Odor identification by males and females: Prediction versus performance. Chemical Senses, 7(2), 129-142.

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