Studying the relationship between language and odor perception seems to be quite a trend among scientists. Last month I posted about two studies that explored the link between knowing the name of an odor and liking or disliking it (see Jan. 22′s story, Odor appreciation influenced by names). Another recent study, this one from Japan, took a look at the fear factor. Their study examined whether believing an odor to be “hazardous” or “healthy” influenced perception of the odor’s intensity. Scientists saw that when they presented the same odor twice, in intermittent bursts (as opposed to one brief sniff), the subjects experienced the odor labelled “hazardous” as being more intense.
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