Study finds weak but intriguing links between olfactory ability and intimacy in romantic relationships

A recent study published in the Archives of Sexual Behavior provides new insights into how our sense of smell and feelings of disgust may be related to the way we experience intimacy in romantic relationships. The researchers found that emotional and intellectual intimacy showed small but statistically significant associations with better olfactory ability, while physical and social intimacy were modestly linked to greater sensitivity to certain types of disgust.

Intimacy is a foundational part of romantic relationships, encompassing emotional connection, physical closeness, intellectual engagement, and shared activities. While much of the psychological literature on intimacy focuses on communication, attachment styles, and sexual satisfaction, there has been growing interest in how less obvious traits—such as olfactory perception and disgust sensitivity—might also shape intimacy. Although there is evidence connecting olfaction and disgust to relationship processes, these two factors have rarely been studied together in the context of intimacy. The researchers aimed to bridge this gap.

“Research into people who have lost their sense of smell reveals that they often report less satisfying relationships, including reduced sexual satisfaction. However, very little work has looked at how smell and intimacy might be related in the general population. We wanted to better understand this connection and whether other factors, like disgust sensitivity, also play a role in intimacy,” said study author Fiona Wylie, a research assistant in the Food, Flavour, and Fragrance Lab at Macquarie University.

“On a personal level, I noticed that without my sense of smell, life felt a bit flatter. Food became boring, and everyday experiences lost their richness. Therefore, I was inspired to better understand how our sense of smell interacts with our daily lives. Smell is a sense that many of us take for granted, and its importance often becomes obvious only when it’s lost. This was exemplified by the rise in olfactory dysfunction due to COVID-19.”

“Research has shown us that smell is tied to our emotions, memory, and even our relationships. The success of the perfume industry shows that people care about their body odours, but we still know surprisingly little about how they influence our relationships. For me, this project was a chance to explore that gap, and asking: does our ability to smell shape the way we connect with others?”

The study included 74 participants ranging in age from 17 to 56, most of whom were young adults (average age of about 23). The sample was predominantly female and heterosexual, although it also included a small number of non-binary and bisexual individuals. Participants were recruited through a university participant pool, email invitations, and social media. To be eligible, individuals had to have been in a romantic relationship at some point in their lives.

Participants completed a series of online questionnaires and one in-person smell test in a university laboratory. The online portion included a widely used intimacy scale known as the Personal Assessment of Intimacy in Relationships. This tool measures five aspects of intimacy: emotional, physical, intellectual, social, and recreational. Each subscale asked participants to rate how well different statements described their relationship, such as whether they felt emotionally supported or whether they enjoyed spending time together.

To assess disgust sensitivity, the researchers used the Three Domains of Disgust Scale. This questionnaire measures how strongly people react to different kinds of potentially offensive stimuli, including signs of disease (pathogen disgust), moral violations (moral disgust), and sexual behaviors (sexual disgust). Higher scores indicate greater sensitivity to these domains.

Participants also completed a shortened version of the Sniffin’ Sticks test, a validated method of evaluating olfactory ability. In this test, individuals were asked to smell five distinct odors—such as peppermint, rose, and fish—and identify them from a list of options. Higher scores indicated better odor identification ability.

The results offered partial support for the researchers’ initial hypotheses. As predicted, there was a small positive correlation between emotional intimacy and olfactory ability. This suggests that people who are better at identifying smells may feel more emotionally connected in their relationships. However, this association became non-significant when controlling for other variables like gender and whether participants were currently partnered.

Contrary to expectations, olfactory ability was not related to physical intimacy. This finding stands in contrast to earlier studies suggesting that people with better smell sensitivity tend to have more frequent or satisfying sexual experiences. The researchers speculated that the gender imbalance in their sample—where most participants were women—may have influenced the results, since previous research has suggested that men may place more emphasis on sexual aspects of relationships.

Unexpectedly, the researchers found that higher levels of pathogen and sexual disgust were positively associated with physical intimacy. In other words, people who reported being more sensitive to disease cues and certain sexual behaviors also tended to report higher satisfaction with the physical aspects of their relationship. This was surprising, as previous research has often linked high disgust sensitivity with lower sexual desire or avoidance of close contact. The researchers proposed that this may reflect differences in how intimacy is defined and measured. Rather than focusing on short-term mating or sexual arousal, this study examined broader aspects of physical closeness and comfort with a partner.

Exploratory analyses revealed additional findings. Intellectual intimacy showed a weak positive correlation with olfactory ability, suggesting that people who are better at identifying odors may also enjoy deeper conversations or cognitive engagement with their partners. Social intimacy was moderately associated with pathogen disgust, and olfactory ability uniquely predicted recreational intimacy in regression analyses. Moral disgust, on the other hand, showed no significant relationship with any form of intimacy in this study.

“Although preliminary, the findings suggest that there is indeed a connection between how well someone can smell and their experiences of intimacy in romantic relationships,” Wylie told PsyPost. “This adds to the growing evidence that our sense of smell, though often overlooked, can influence social and emotional aspects of our lives.”

Gender differences also emerged. Women scored higher than men on physical intimacy, olfactory ability, and sexual disgust sensitivity. These differences may reflect broader gender-based trends in emotional and sensory processing. Being in a current romantic relationship was also consistently linked to higher intimacy scores across all domains.

As with all research, there are limitations to consider. First, the olfactory test used only five odors, which may have limited the ability to detect more nuanced differences in smell identification. A longer version of the test might provide more reliable results. Second, the sample size was relatively small and skewed toward young, female, university-affiliated participants. This limits the generalizability of the findings to other populations.

Additionally, the study’s design was correlational, meaning it cannot determine causality. Future studies using experimental or longitudinal designs could help clarify the direction of these associations.

“This was an exploratory study with a relatively small number of participants, so the results should be viewed as preliminary,” Wylie said. “In other words, further research is needed to replicate these findings and explore whether they apply across different cultures, age groups, and types of relationships. It’s also important to remember that correlation does not imply causation. Our sense of smell may be just one small but meaningful piece of this larger puzzle.”

The study, “The Scent of Intimacy: Exploring the Associations Between Intimacy, Disgust, and Olfactory Ability,” was authored by Ellen L. Murphy, Fiona E. Wylie, and Mehmet K. Mahmut.