Just a few points on what Karl says below:
(1) As with other stimuli, "semiochemicals" have to stand out
from background chemicals, that is, this is a situation where
there is a signal in the context of noise. At the very least,
one has to consider the strength of the signal as well as
how well signal detectors can separate signals from noise.
In the present case, how well one can distinguish one
smell from a smelly environment.
(2) It seems to me that to be able to compare nonhuman
animals olfactory processes with human olfactory processes
(after making sure that their physiological olfactory system
are the same or highly similar -- whether humans have
vomeronasal sense is a controversial point; see:
http://psychology.wikia.com/wiki/Vomeronasal_organ ),
one would have to put naked humans in an environment
where they could only clean themselves with plain water,
mud, sand, or other similar natural "cleansers". The TV
reality series "Naked and Afraid" is an example of such
a situation. This is to reduce the presence of artificial
molecules that may affect olfaction.
(3) Consider the modern human in an industrialized,
urban setting. First, how many chemicals are applied
directly to their bodies that can alter the smell a body can
produce (e.g., daily bathing with soap with numerous
chemicals, deodorants, "body splashes" or decorative
odors as in Axe body sprays, colognes, perfumes,
mouthwash, skin creams, etc.). Second, how many
chemicals are used on clothes that are leave a residue
of detergents, fabric softeners, bleaches, other chemicals
if one use dry cleaning, chemicals from the materials
making up the clothing, etc.? Given all these odor producing
sources on a human, what chance does a natural body
odor stand relative to odors of the immediate context of
the body? That odor would have to be a pretty strong
signal to stand out from the noise -- like a smelly fart --
in order to be perceivable. Is the smell of happiness
like that of a fart? If not, if it is subtle, how can one
discriminate happy smells from all of the other odors?
Do we have specialized "happy smell" detectors?
If so, what are the chemical components of happy smells?
Axe body spray?
(4) And could any discussion of smells, happy or not, be
complete without a mention of Frank Booth? For those
unfamiliar with Mr. Booth, see his Wikipedia entry:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Booth_%28Blue_Velvet%29
And here's an episode of Mr. Booth's program "What's
That Smell" (from SNL):
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xrfiu3_what-s-that-smell_fun
(5) I am glad that Karl is probably giving off very happy
smells/odors and only caution him that if a passerby
yells at him "What's that smell!?", run like hell.
("Blue Velvet" takes place in Lumberton, NC). ;-)
-Mike Palij
New York University
[email protected]
On Date: Tue, 9 Jun 2015 02:25:42 +0000, Karl L Wuensch wrote:
As usual, Mike has found web content that rings my bells.
My take (speculative) on this issue, in a nutshell:
Sure, the sweat is basically salt water, period -- but the emotional
state of the sweater may influence the growth of the various
micro-organisms that give sweat odor (as do other states of the
sweater) --
and maybe vice versa (could we be happier if we were
inoculated with happy micro-organisms?)
In nonhumans, there is good evidence that scents convey
information about emotional status, including fear.
The distinction between pheromones and chemosignals
(aka semiochemicals) involves the restriction that pheromones
be species-specific. Scents may convey information to both
conspecifics and members of other species, thus "semiochemicals,"
signal chemicals. For example, your pets may be able to
detect your emotional state by your scent.
In nonhumans, semiochemicals may influence behavior via
sensory systems other than the primary olfactory system (smell),
such as the vomeronasal sense, which is not believed to be
functional in humans.
Bottom line, having in the last two months having four manuscripts
accepted for publication, you can be pretty sure that my perspiration
exudes happiness.
Cheers,
Karl L. Wuensch
-----Original Message-----
From: Mike Palij [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Sunday, June 07, 2015 11:00 AM
To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS)
Cc: Michael Palij
Subject: [tips] Do You Smell Happy?
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. ;-)
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