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Within the framework of the partnership between GDR O3 and Nez, we offer you a regular round-up of the studies resulting from the work undertaken by the research group and its team of scientists from every field with a common focus: odour in all its forms. The idea? Nez reads the scientific publications, and offers you a simpler, more accessible but still precise version.
Today, let’s talk about sweat and emotional contagion, a theme that interested Camille Ferdenzi, CNRS research associate in the CRNL Neuropop team.
Have you ever felt you can smell stress in the air when entering an examination room? There’s more to it than just an impression: a number of scientific studies have shown that this emotional state can be transmitted via odours as well as reproduced in the person perceiving it; not only do we know that the room is stress-filled, we also feel stressed when entering it. A proven phenomenon for fear and stress alike. However, until now, few studies have examined the possibility of a positive emotional state that is transmittable via the sense of smell – a surprising oversight at a time when aromachology is in full swing and fragrances described as having feel-good effects are battling to capture their share of the market.
A team of researchers has therefore established a protocol for judging the potential influence of positive emotions. Sterile cotton gauze pads were taped to men’s armpits (men were preferred because they have larger apocrine glands and thus the potential to produce more chemical substances). Participants were then asked to watch videos under conditions that were either neutral or more likely to elicit positive emotions.
Afterwards the gauzes were presented to women (because they generally have a better sense of smell and greater sensitivity to emotional signals) who were asked to conduct problem-solving tasks. Tests were carried out on the basis of physiological (heart rate, skin conductance, sniffing behaviour), verbal and behavioural (performance in carrying out tasks) reactions. In certain cases, a perfume was added to the armpit aroma to observe whether it modulated the emotional contagion.
The results showed that, while a majority of women stated they felt no effects, the physiological and behavioural tests suggested that when in the presence of an armpit odour sample taken during a period of positive emotion, there was evidence of positive emotional contagion compared to control samples when the armpit odour was taken during a neutral emotional state. This was indicated by lower heart rate and improved performance in creative and problem-solving tasks. The presence of perfume had no measurable impact.
To take things a stage further, the researchers set up a second protocol, using virtual reality to counteract the sense of being in a laboratory, as this can obviously have an impact on results: we behave differently in a laboratory than we do in everyday life. And while the study did not identify any significant results, the researchers are keen to point out that it is “very likely that certain methodological choices taken for the study may have impacted on chemical communication,” as suggested by several earlier studies.
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Main visual: © Adèle Chévara
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