A recent study published in Biological Letters found that while there are some cross-cultural similarities in odor pleasantness, cultural and ecological factors significantly influence how smells are perceived.
Odor pleasantness affects a wide range of human behaviors and preferences, ranging from dietary choices to social interactions. Studies have shown that both innate factors and cultural experiences can shape how we perceive smells, but the universality of these perceptions is unclear. By comparing ratings of common odors across various cultural groups, researchers Piotr Sorokowski and colleagues examined whether our preferences are more influenced by the inherent properties of the odors or by the cultural and ecological contexts in which we experience them.
The study involved 582 participants from five culturally and ecologically diverse groups: the Hadza from Tanzania, the Tsimane’ from Bolivia, the Yali from New Guinea, and industrialized populations in Poland and Malaysia. Participants included 86 Hadza, 96 Malaysians, 200 Poles, 144 Tsimane’, and 56 Yali, representing a range of lifestyles from hunter-gatherers to industrialized urban dwellers. This diverse sample allowed the researchers to examine how different cultural and ecological contexts influence odor perception.
Participants were presented with 15 odor samples, which included both familiar scents like banana, coffee, and cinnamon, and less familiar ones like leather and turpentine. These odors were selected to cover a range of pleasantness as judged by Western standards. The participants rated each odor for pleasantness and familiarity. The Hadza and Yali provided ratings on a 3-point scale while the Malaysians, Poles, and Tsimane’ used a 5-point scale, with extremes representing “I do not like it at all” and “I like it a lot.”
To ensure comprehension and consistency, the researchers employed interpreters for non-industrialized groups and conducted checks by asking participants to rate the same odors at different points during the study. The researchers converted the different scales to a common metric using the percent of the maximum possible score (POMP) method, which standardizes scores across different scales while preserving the underlying differences in responses, allowing for meaningful comparisons across the diverse participant groups.
The study found significant differences in how participants from different cultures rated the pleasantness of various odors. The identity of the odors explained a notable portion of the variation in ratings, with odor identity accounting for 14% of the variance in the full sample and 19% when excluding the Yali group. In comparison, the population explained only 7% of the variance, suggesting that the specific odors themselves had a stronger impact on pleasantness ratings than cultural differences alone.
Familiarity with the odors was the strongest predictor of pleasantness, explaining 37% of the variance. This suggests that participants tended to rate familiar odors as more pleasant. The Hadza rated the odors as the least pleasant, followed by the Malaysians, Tsimane’, Yali, and Poles. Including familiarity in the analysis showed even greater differences in how pleasant the odors were perceived, emphasizing the role of cultural exposure.
Familiarity had a greater influence on the ratings of the most pleasant odors (such as peach, strawberry, and coffee) compared to the least pleasant odors (such as butter, butanol, and grass). This finding underscores the role of cultural exposure in shaping preferences, as people tend to have more positive reactions to smells they frequently encounter in their daily lives.
The researchers note that future studies should consider including odors more representative of the ecological and cultural contexts of all participant groups to reduce potential biases and improve the comparability of results.
The study, “Is the perception of odor pleasantness shared across cultures and ecological conditions? Evidence from Amazonia, East Africa, New Guinea, Malaysia and Poland”, was authored by Piotr Sorokowski, Michał Misiak, S. Craig Roberts, Marta Kowal, Marina Butovskaya, Mohd Sofian Omar-Fauzee, Tomás Huanca, and Agnieszka Sorokowska.
