 “The most immediate and basic response we have to a scent is whether we like it or not.” – R. Herz
Are we born with a template of what smells we do and don’t like, or do our predilections for certain smells develop and change? And why don’t we all share the same preferences? Dr. Rachel S. Herz of Brown University provides an in-depth review of research that seeks answers to these questions and more in a white paper commissioned by the Sense of Smell Institute and entitled, “I Know What I Like: Understanding Odor Preferences.” This review also presents findings pertinent not only to the fragrance industry, but to all of us, in terms of what shapes – and reshapes – our olfactory tastes.
The question of whether we are born liking and disliking various odors or whether we form preferences as we go through life has been the cause of longstanding debate in the scientific community. The innate view states that we are born with intact predispositions toward odors. While widely held, this view is not well reinforced by actual data. Those studies that do support it are considered controversial.
Dr. Herz maintains the alternative view, that odor preferences are learned, is more substantially corroborated by both research and scientific theory. In short, this view states that we learn to like and dislike various odors based on the emotional associations we make upon initial encounter with them. This preference formation begins extremely early in human development – and aspects of both human developmental and evolutionary theory indicate that odor preferences are largely the result of learned responses.
Emotional associative learning also explains why various differences exist between individuals’ odor preferences. Culturally based preferences are one example; what’s considered a happy, comforting smell of “home” can vary widely among cultures, for instance. To some extent, differences are explainable by other factors, such as gender and genetic characteristics. Mainly, though, they seem to exist as a result of our individual experiences and the emotional meanings we attach to those experiences.
What’s more, our preferences can be changed, particularly with odors we don’t initially feel strongly about one way or the other. While very strong preferences – intense “loves” or “hates” of certain odors – appear difficult to change, more moderate ones can be effectively manipulated. Words seem to be especially powerful manipulators, according to the results of several studies conducted by Herz and her associates. Use of the terms “natural” and “synthetic” in describing types of odors, for example, can be extremely influential in affecting peoples’ perceptions of those odors.
All in all, when it comes to scents, it appears we really do know what we like – once we learn what those likes (and dislikes) are and what they mean to us.
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Glossary of terms related to odor preference >
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