Actually one of my s&p books describes a few studies on how humans can smell emotion. The one I know that has been studied the most has been fear but I think others have noted happiness as well.
Deb Deborah Briihl Dept of psych and counseling Valdosta state university [email protected] ,Sent from my iPad > On Jun 7, 2015, at 10:59 AM, Mike Palij <[email protected]> wrote: > > And, no, I don't mean are you happy when you smell things. > > Okay, this is a little convoluted but I'll try to be clear. I get > an email newsletter from WebMD and the lead article this > week is "Does Your Sweat Stink?". The link from it goes > to a quiz on "body fluids" with the true/false question > "sweat has no smell" and the correct answer is "True", > it is the bacteria and probably funky stuff on your skin > that makes sweat stinky (incidentally, I got 10 out of 11 > questions about various bodily fluids which would seem > to imply that I know my bodily fluids except when it comes > to drinking pee). If you want to test your knowledge of > bodily fluids (why am I reminded of the movie > "Dr. Strangelove"?) see: > http://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/rm-quiz-body-fluids > > But, as I scanned down the email, there was a sentence > link that said "Is it Possible to 'Smell' Happiness?" > My first reactions was "What the, what the?" I mean, > sweat doesn't smell (I know because WebMD tells me > so), so how could a person exude "happiness" or > any other emotional state outside of their breath and/or > the other end. I clicked on the link and was brought to: > http://www.webmd.com/balance/news/20150526/do-people-transmit-happiness-by-smell > > It was here that I read: > > |"Human sweat produced when a person is happy induces > |a state similar to happiness in somebody who inhales this > |odor," said study co-author Gun Semin, a research professor > |in the department of psychology at Koc University in Istanbul, > |Turkey, and the Instituto Superior de Psicologia Aplicada in > |Lisbon, Portugal. > > A state of cognitive dissonance ensues: WebMD tells me > that sweat has no smell but now WebMD runs a story that > says that one can smell "happy" in sweat! I am confused. > > I also have a disturbing vision of a TV commercial involving > Marty Seligman pitching a new perfume called "Happiness" > (shot in a Calvin Klein fashion, such as > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=de1vyikBnsg > and > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jnqO_4SD8YQ > The latter is basically eye candy for people who like that kind > of candy). > > But I digress. > > So, being the intellectually curious person that I am known to be, > I search out the original research article that served as the basis > for this media article and, Lo and Behold! it is an article in the > journal "Psychological Science". For the article, see: > http://pss.sagepub.com/content/26/6/684 > And, since the APS thought this was research of immense importance > and significance to not only the scientific community but to the > world, here's the pop psych version that APS put out: > http://www.psychologicalscience.org/index.php/news/releases/a-sniff-of-happiness-chemicals-in-sweat-may-convey-positive-emotion.html > > NOTE #1: The chemicals are not pheromones but "chemosignals". > NOTE #2: Only women were used as subjects because of their > greater olfactory power. > NOTE #3: One reason why this research was done is apparently > there is evidence that there are chemosignals for negative emotions > and no one has studied positive emotions (boy, Seligman missed that > one). > NOTE #4: If there are chemosignals in sweat (detected as odors > via our olfactory system -- unless there's a licking manipulation I'm > missing), then why does WebMD say that sweat doesn't smell? > THEY LIES TO ME! Maybe. This raises questions about whether > I actually that pee question wrong. > > So, what is the truth? Can we smell the emotional state of another? > Sniff a colleague and see if you can correctly guess his/her emotional > state. But don't be too obvious about it because you might come > off as being somewhat creepy (or cannibalistic). > > -Mike Palij > New York University > [email protected] > > P.S. I am absolutely sure that this has nothing to do with how > the research turned out but the APS pop version of the research > states at the end: > > "The research was supported by Unilever Research & Development (AGR > 01049/OIV120260)." > > Unilever is multinational corporation and among its products are > Axe body spray and Lifebuoy soap; see: > http://www.unilever.com/brands/ > They apparently also make Hellmann's mayonnaise but I'm not sure > that that is relevant. ;-) > > > > > > > --- > You are currently subscribed to tips as: [email protected]. > To unsubscribe click here: > http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13162.50de294b9d4987a3c89b4a5cc4bdea62&n=T&l=tips&o=45298 > or send a blank email to > leave-45298-13162.50de294b9d4987a3c89b4a5cc4bde...@fsulist.frostburg.edu --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: [email protected]. 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