People don’t smell each other out of politeness. Despite our best efforts to the contrary, all of us have our own distinct odors, and if we are like other terrestrial mammals, our individual scents may have significance to other people.
A study was released in the Science Advances journal on Wednesday, where researchers looked at groups of friends whose relationships “clicked” right away and found that friends who share similar body odors form friendships more quickly and maintain those relationships. Additionally, when the researchers paired up strangers to play a game, their body scents indicated whether they felt a strong bond.
Graduate student Inbal Ravreby works in the research lab of Noam Sobel at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel. In her study, 20 pairs of so-called “click pals” underwent a procedure that is frequently used in studies of human body odor: They were instructed to refrain from eating onions and garlic for a few days. Stop using deodorant. Use unscented soap to take a shower. And wear a brand-new, clean T-shirt and spend the night in it so it can accumulate some odor before giving it to the researchers for analysis.
An electronic nose measured the smell from each T-shirt, and volunteers were asked how similar the odors were. They were surprised to learn that the friends’ scents were more similar to each other than those of strangers. That means one of the things they noticed as their connection developed was their odors. “It’s very probable that at least some of them were using perfumes when they met,” Ms. Ravreby speculated. “But it did not mask whatever they had in common.”
To test this, the researchers invited 132 people into the lab to participate in a mirrored game. Each participant had to first stink up a T-shirt. Subjects were paired up and required to imitate one other’s movements while standing near one another. When they finished, they responded to surveys asking if they felt a connection to their partner.
Surprisingly, the similarities between their smells predicted whether both people felt they had a connection 71% of the time. This finding suggests that our own odor produces positive emotions. When we meet new individuals, it might be one of the first things we notice along with whether they love sports or science fiction. “If you think of the bouquet that is body odor, it’s 6,000 molecules at least,” Dr. Sobel said. “There are 6,000 that we know of already — it’s probably way more.”
A study was released in the Science Advances journal on Wednesday, where researchers looked at groups of friends whose relationships “clicked” right away and found that friends who share similar body odors form friendships more quickly and maintain those relationships. Additionally, when the researchers paired up strangers to play a game, their body scents indicated whether they felt a strong bond.
Graduate student Inbal Ravreby works in the research lab of Noam Sobel at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel. In her study, 20 pairs of so-called “click pals” underwent a procedure that is frequently used in studies of human body odor: They were instructed to refrain from eating onions and garlic for a few days. Stop using deodorant. Use unscented soap to take a shower. And wear a brand-new, clean T-shirt and spend the night in it so it can accumulate some odor before giving it to the researchers for analysis.
An electronic nose measured the smell from each T-shirt, and volunteers were asked how similar the odors were. They were surprised to learn that the friends’ scents were more similar to each other than those of strangers. That means one of the things they noticed as their connection developed was their odors. “It’s very probable that at least some of them were using perfumes when they met,” Ms. Ravreby speculated. “But it did not mask whatever they had in common.”
To test this, the researchers invited 132 people into the lab to participate in a mirrored game. Each participant had to first stink up a T-shirt. Subjects were paired up and required to imitate one other’s movements while standing near one another. When they finished, they responded to surveys asking if they felt a connection to their partner.
Surprisingly, the similarities between their smells predicted whether both people felt they had a connection 71% of the time. This finding suggests that our own odor produces positive emotions. When we meet new individuals, it might be one of the first things we notice along with whether they love sports or science fiction. “If you think of the bouquet that is body odor, it’s 6,000 molecules at least,” Dr. Sobel said. “There are 6,000 that we know of already — it’s probably way more.”
