Differences in verbal descriptions of anxiety, aggression, and happiness sweat
Wed-P2-050
Presented by: Olga Rashidi
Humans usually fail to identify the emotional state of individuals based on sweat released volatiles in forced-choice tasks. The current study explores whether differences in verbal descriptions of anxiety-, aggression-, and happiness-related sweat exist, assessing odour descriptions without participants being forced to choose between emotional odour labels.
Axillary sweat was collected from women via cotton pads in three conditions: anxiety (final university exam, n = 21), aggression (retaliating against a frustrating opponent in a competitive social encounter, n = 17), and happiness (awaiting the arrival of a loved person after a period of separation, n = 25). The sweat samples were presented via a constant air-flow olfactometer (100 ml/s): anxiety sweat for 0.5 s to n = 28 individuals (n = 12 women), aggression sweat for 0.4 s to n = 84 individuals (n = 44 women), and happiness sweat for 0.5 s to n = 53 individuals (n = 27 women). Participants described the sweat samples using a standard list of 147 hedonically pleasant and unpleasant verbal descriptors, and were free to select as many descriptors as they wanted.
Chosen by at least 10% of the participants, happiness-related sweat received the highest number of 5 positive descriptions (warm; woody, resinous; leather; cool, cooling; floral), while anxiety-related sweat received only 2 (warm; sweet), and aggression-related sweat only 1 (warm). Conversely, anxiety-related sweat received the highest number of 4 negative descriptions (stale; chemical; medicinal; heavy), happiness- and aggression-related sweat, however, each received only 1 (stale).
Although chemosensory communication does not rely on conscious perception, the current study suggests that intuitive verbal descriptions might reflect the emotional valence of a given chemosensory signal.
Axillary sweat was collected from women via cotton pads in three conditions: anxiety (final university exam, n = 21), aggression (retaliating against a frustrating opponent in a competitive social encounter, n = 17), and happiness (awaiting the arrival of a loved person after a period of separation, n = 25). The sweat samples were presented via a constant air-flow olfactometer (100 ml/s): anxiety sweat for 0.5 s to n = 28 individuals (n = 12 women), aggression sweat for 0.4 s to n = 84 individuals (n = 44 women), and happiness sweat for 0.5 s to n = 53 individuals (n = 27 women). Participants described the sweat samples using a standard list of 147 hedonically pleasant and unpleasant verbal descriptors, and were free to select as many descriptors as they wanted.
Chosen by at least 10% of the participants, happiness-related sweat received the highest number of 5 positive descriptions (warm; woody, resinous; leather; cool, cooling; floral), while anxiety-related sweat received only 2 (warm; sweet), and aggression-related sweat only 1 (warm). Conversely, anxiety-related sweat received the highest number of 4 negative descriptions (stale; chemical; medicinal; heavy), happiness- and aggression-related sweat, however, each received only 1 (stale).
Although chemosensory communication does not rely on conscious perception, the current study suggests that intuitive verbal descriptions might reflect the emotional valence of a given chemosensory signal.