research | common scents
common scents
smell as numbers…
Each day we breathe 23,040 times; we move around 438 cubic feet of air; it takes us about 5 seconds to breathe—2 seconds to inhale and 3 seconds to exhale. The average human being can recognize up to 10,000 different odours.
smell as movement…
Our sense of smell allows us to detect obvious/subtle information from our environments and others in it—the sensation of movement requires volatile molecules for conscious {awareness of odour} & subconscious {biological functions} stimulation.
smell as sensations…
Smell sensations are relayed to the cerebral hemispheres where cognitive recognition occurs but only after the limbic system has been stimulated. This is why it can be evocative and transport us back in time.
Every stimulus that is registered by one of our senses elicits a sensation that is characterized by its quality and intensity. The juxtaposition of all the sensations which an object elicits in our various senses lead to its perception. The cognition of reality which results from our collection of perceptions is what we call experience. Based on earlier perceptions or on experience, people can recollect an object before their mental eye, that is , they can have a specific conception of it. The free construction of new conceptions from existing ones that may be combined or separated, enriched or simplified we call imagination.
The Psychological Basis of Perfumery. Paul Jellinek.
smell as biology…
A person's individual scent identity is a direct reflection of their immune system; the MHC gene (Major Histocompatibility Complex) helps identify individuals through their scent. As unique as a fingerprint, it influences body odour and attraction between people—attraction between dissimilar immune systems increases the chances of healthy, stronger offspring.
smell as representation…
The nose is useful not because of its ability to identify odours 'verbally', but rather because of its sensitivity, vigilance and persistence in monitoring an odour until the odour has passed inspection by higher mental processes—and because of its ability to recall an episode involving a significant experience with it. An odour is integrated into the mental representation of an experience; it has no identifiable attributes of its own but exists as an inherant part of a unitary, holistic perceptual event… that is why it is so difficult to identify isolated odours out of context.
Odor Sensation And Memory. Trygg Engen.
smell as culture…
The sense of smell is the common thread through all cultures—it is the universal means of expression and communication that unites all societies. Human responses to smell is through associative learning; we associate a smell with the circumstances under which it was first experienced. Our smell preferences comes about because of our specific personal and cultural experiences. Smells are involved with just about every aspect of culture—from the construction of identity, definition of social status to the conforming of personal/group affiliations.