It is well established that composite facial images are perceived as more attractive compared with individual images, suggesting a preference for heterozygosity. Similarly, there is evidence that preferences for body odours might be linked to heterozygosity. Here, we tested whether blending individual body odours into composites would follow a similar pattern as observed in the perception of faces. We collected axillary odour samples from 38 individuals, which were subsequently assessed individually and as composites of two (N = 19) or four (N = 9) body odours regarding their pleasantness, attractiveness and intensity. We found no significant differences between mean ratings of individual odour samples or composites of two or four odour samples. Our results indicate that, in contrast to faces, composite body odours are not rated as more attractive. Composite body odours retain similar hedonic perceptual qualities as individual odours, thus highlighting differences in visual and chemosensory perceptual mechanisms.

Faculty of Humanities Charles University Prague Czech Republic

Faculty of Science Charles University Prague Czech Republic; National Institute of Mental Health Klecany Czech Republic

Institute of Psychology University of Wroclaw Poland; Smell and Taste Clinic Department of Otorhinolaryngology TU Dresden Germany

School of Natural Sciences University of Stirling UK

Zobrazit více v PubMed

Adolph D., Schlösser S., Hawighorst M., Pause B. M. (2010) Chemosensory signals of competition increase the skin conductance response in humans. Physiology & Behavior 101: 666–671. doi:10.1016/j.physbeh.2010.08.004. PubMed

Aizenstein H., MacDonald A., Stenger V., Nebes R., Larson J., Ursu S., Carter C. (2000) Complementary category learning systems identified using event-related functional MRI. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience 12: 977–987. doi:10.1162/08989290051137512. PubMed

Albrecht J., Demmel M., Schopf V., Kleemann A. M., Kopietz R., May J., Wiesmann M. (2011) Smelling chemosensory signals of males in anxious versus nonanxious condition increases state anxiety of female subjects. Chemical Senses 36: 19–27. doi:10.1093/chemse/bjq087. PubMed

Chen D., Haviland-Jones J. (2000) Human olfactory communication of emotion. Perceptual and Motor Skills 91: 771–781. doi: 10.2466/pms.2000.91.3.771. PubMed

Chen D., Katdare A., Lucas N. (2006) Chemosignals of fear enhance cognitive performance in humans. Chemical Senses 31: 415–423. doi:10.1093/chemse/bjj046. PubMed

Dalton P., Mauté C., Jaén C., Wilson T. (2013) Chemosignals of stress influence social judgments. PLoS One 8: e77144 doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0077144. PubMed PMC

de Groot J. H. B., Smeets M. A. M., Kaldewaij A., Duijndam M. J. A., Semin G. R. (2012) Chemosignals communicate human emotions. Psychological Science 23: 1417–1424. doi:10.1177/0956797612445317. PubMed

Enquist M., Arak A. (1994) Symmetry, beauty and evolution. Nature 372: 169–172. doi:10.1038/372169a0. PubMed

Fialová, J., & Havlíček, J. (August, 2012). Does restriction of caloric intake affect human body odour? Poster presented at the XXI Biennial Conference on Human Ethology, Vienna, Austria.

Fialová J., Roberts S. C., Havlíček J. (2016) Consumption of garlic positively affects hedonic perception of axillary body odour. Appetite 97: 8–15. doi:10.1016/j.appet.2015.11.001. PubMed

Galton F. (1879) Composite portraits, made by combining those of many different persons into a single resultant figure. The Journal of the Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland 8: 132–144.

Gelstein S., Yeshurun Y., Rozenkrantz L., Shushan S., Frumin I., Roth Y., Sobel N. (2011) Human tears contain a chemosignal. Science 331: 226–230. doi:10.1126/science.1198331. PubMed

Grammer K., Thornhill R. (1994) Human (Homo sapiens) facial attractiveness and sexual selection: The role of symmetry and averageness. Journal of Comparative Psychology 108: 233–242. doi: 10.1037/0735-7036.108.3.233. PubMed

Haegler K., Zernecke R., Kleemann A. M., Albrecht J., Pollatos O., Bruckmann H., Wiesmann M. (2010) No fear no risk! Human risk behavior is affected by chemosensory anxiety signals. Neuropsychologia 48: 3901–3908. doi:10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2010.09.019. PubMed

Havlíček J., Dvořáková R., Bartoš L., Flegr J. (2006) Non-advertized does not mean concealed: Body odour changes across the human menstrual cycle. Ethology 112: 81–90. doi:10.1111/j.1439-0310.2006.01125.x.

Havlíček J., Lenochová P., Oberzaucher E., Grammer K., Roberts S. C. (2011) Does length of sampling affect quality of body odor samples? Chemosensory Perception 4: 186–194. doi:10.1007/s12078-011-9104-6.

Havlíček J., Roberts S. C. (2009) MHC-correlated mate choice in humans: A review. Psychoneuroendocrinology 34: 497–512. doi:10.1016/j.psyneuen.2008.10.007. PubMed

Jinks A., Laing D. G. (1999) A limit in the processing of components in odour mixtures. Perception 28: 395–404. doi:10.1068/p2898. PubMed

Kamiya T., O’Dwyer K., Westerdahl H., Senior A., Nakagawa S. (2014) A quantitative review of MHC-based mating preference: The role of diversity and dissimilarity. Molecular Ecology 23: 5151–5163. doi:10.1111/mec.12934. PubMed

Kirkpatrick M., Ryan M. J. (1991) The evolution of mating preferences and the paradox of the lek. Nature 350: 33–38. doi:10.1038/350033a0.

Kohoutová D., Rubešová A., Havlíček J. (2011) Shaving of axillary hair has only a transient effect on perceived body odor pleasantness. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 66: 569–581. doi:10.1007/s00265-011-1305-0.

Kuukasjarvi S., Eriksson C. J. P., Koskela E., Mappes T., Nissinen K., Rantala M. J. (2004) Attractiveness of women’s body odors over the menstrual cycle: The role of oral contraceptives and receiver sex. Behavioral Ecology 15: 579–584. doi:10.1093/beheco/arh050.

Langlois J., Roggman L., Musselman L. (1994) What is average and what is not average about attractive faces? Psychological Science 5: 214–220.

Langlois J. H., Roggman L. A. (1990) Attractive faces are only average. Psychological Science 1: 115–121. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9280.1990.tb00079.x.

Lenochova P., Roberts S. C., Havlicek J. (2008) Methods of human body odor sampling: The effect of freezing. Chemical Senses 34: 127–138. doi:10.1093/chemse/bjn067. PubMed

Lenochová P., Vohnoutová P., Roberts S. C., Oberzaucher E., Grammer K., Havlíček J. (2012) Psychology of fragrance use: Perception of individual odor and perfume blends reveals a mechanism for idiosyncratic effects on fragrance choice. PLoS One 7: e33810 doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0033810. PubMed PMC

Lie H. C., Rhodes G., Simmons L. W. (2008) Genetic diversity revealed in human faces. Evolution 62: 2473–2486. doi:10.1111/j.1558-5646.2008.00478.x. PubMed

Little A. C., Jones B. C. (2003) Evidence against perceptual bias views for symmetry preferences in human faces. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B: Biological Sciences 270: 1759–1763. doi:10.1098/rspb.2003.2445. PubMed PMC

Lübke K. T., Croy I., Hoenen M., Gerber J., Pause B. M., Hummel T. (2014) Does human body odor represent a significant and rewarding social signal to individuals high in social openness? PLoS One 9: 1–7. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0094314. PubMed PMC

Martindale C., Moore K. (1988) Priming, prototypicality, and preference. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance 14: 661–670. doi:10.1037//0096-1523.14.4.661.

Martinec Nováková L., Havlíček J., Roberts S. C. (2014) Olfactory processing and odor specificity: A meta-analysis of menstrual cycle variation in olfactory sensitivity. Anthropological Review 77: 331–345. doi:10.2478/anre-2014-0024.

Martins Y., Preti G., Crabtree C. R., Runyan T., Vainius A. A., Wysocki C. J. (2005) Preference for human body odors is influenced by gender and sexual orientation. Psychological Science 16: 694–701. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9280.2005.01598.x. PubMed

Mujica-Parodi L. R., Strey H. H., Frederick B., Savoy R., Cox D., Botanov Y., Weber J. (2009) Chemosensory cues to conspecific emotional stress activate amygdala in humans. PLoS One 4: e6415 doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0006415. PubMed PMC

Mutic S., Moellers E. M., Wiesmann M., Freiherr J. (2016) Chemosensory communication of gender information: Masculinity bias in body odor perception and femininity bias introduced by chemosignals during social perception. Frontiers in Psychology 6: 1–11. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01980. PubMed PMC

Pause B. M., Adolph D., Prehn-Kristensen A., Ferstl R. (2009) Startle response potentiation to chemosensory anxiety signals in socially anxious individuals. International Journal of Psychophysiology 74: 88–92. doi:10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2009.07.008. PubMed

Pause B. M., Lübke K., Laudien J. H., Ferstl R. (2010) Intensified neuronal investment in the processing of chemosensory anxiety signals in non-socially anxious and socially anxious individuals. PLoS One 5: e10342 doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0010342. PubMed PMC

Pause B. M., Ohrt A., Prehn A., Ferstl R. (2004) Positive emotional priming of facial affect perception in females is diminished by chemosensory anxiety signals. Chemical Senses 29: 797–805. doi:10.1093/chemse/bjh245. PubMed

Perrett D. I., May K. A., Yoshikawa S. (1994) Facial shape and judgements of female attractiveness. Nature 368: 239–242. doi:10.1038/368239a0. PubMed

Posner M., Keele S. (1968) On the genesis of abstract ideas. Journal of Experimental Psychology 77: 353–363. PubMed

Prehn A., Ohrt A., Sojka B., Ferstl R., Pause B. M. (2006) Chemosensory anxiety signals augment the startle reflex in humans. Neuroscience Letters 394: 127–130. doi:10.1016/j.neulet.2005.10.012. PubMed

Prehn-Kristensen A., Wiesner C., Bergmann T. O., Wolff S., Jansen O., Mehdorn H. M., Pause B. M. (2009) Induction of empathy by the smell of anxiety. PLoS One 4: e5987 doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0005987. PubMed PMC

Radulescu A. R., Mujica-Parodi L. R. (2013) Human gender differences in the perception of conspecific alarm chemosensory cues. PLoS One 8: 1–8. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0068485. PubMed PMC

Rhodes G., Sumich A., Byatt G. (1999) Are average facial configurations attractive only because of their symmetry? Psychological Science 10: 52–58. doi:10.1111/1467-9280.00106.

Rhodes G., Tremewan T. (1996) Averageness, exaggeration, and facial attractiveness. Psychological Science 7: 105–110. doi:10.1002/wcs.1316.

Roberts S. C., Gosling L. M., Carter V., Petrie M. (2008) MHC-correlated odour preferences in humans and the use of oral contraceptives. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B: Biological Sciences 275: 2715–2722. doi:10.1098/rspb.2008.0825. PubMed PMC

Roberts S. C., Little A. C., Gosling L. M., Perrett D. I., Carter V., Jones B. C., Petrie M. (2005) MHC-heterozygosity and human facial attractiveness. Evolution and Human Behavior 26: 213–226. doi:10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2004.09.002.

Smith E. E., Shoben E. J., Rips L. J. (1974) Structure and process in semantic memory: A featural model for semantic decisions. Psychological Review 81: 214–241. doi:10.1037/h0036351.

Sobotková M., Fialová J., Roberts S. C., Havlíček J. (2017) Effect of biological relatedness on perfume selection for others: Preliminary evidence. Perception 46: 498–515. doi:10.1177/0301006616682514. PubMed

Thomas-Danguin T., Sinding C., Romagny S., El Mountassir F., Atanasova B., Le Berre E., Coureaud G. (2014) The perception of odor objects in everyday life: A review on the processing of odor mixtures. Frontiers in Psychology 5: 504 doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2014.00504. PubMed PMC

Thornhill R., Gangestad S. W. (1993) Human facial beauty – Averageness, symmetry, and parasite resistance. Human Nature 4: 237–269. doi:10.1007/BF02692201. PubMed

Thornhill R., Gangestad S. W., Miller R., Scheyd G., McCollough J. K., Franklin M. (2003) Major histocompatibility complex genes, symmetry, and body scent attractiveness in men and women. Behavioral Ecology 14: 668–678. doi:10.1093/beheco/arg043.

Whitfield T. W. A., Slatter P. E. (1979) The effects of categorization and prototypicality on aesthetic choice in a furniture selection task. British Journal of Psychology 70: 65–75. doi:10.1111/j.2044-8295.1979.tb02144.x.

Winternitz J., Abbate J., Huchard E., Havlíček J., Garamszegi L. Z. (2017) Patterns of MHC-dependent mate selection in humans and non-human primates a meta-analysis. Molecular Ecology 26: 668–688. doi:10.1111/mec.13920. PubMed

Zernecke R., Haegler K., Kleemann A. M., Albrecht J., Frank T., Linn J., Wiesmann M. (2011) Effects of male anxiety chemosignals on the evaluation of happy facial expressions. Journal of Psychophysiology 25: 116–123. doi:10.1027/0269-8803/a000047.

Fialová, J., Sorokowska, A., Craig Roberts, S., Kubicová, L., & Havlíček, J. (2018). Human body odour composites are not perceived more positively than the individual samples. i-Perception, 9(3), 1–15. doi:10.1177/2041669518766367. PubMed PMC

Emotional expression in human odour

Human Body Odour Composites Are Not Perceived More Positively than the Individual Samples