Title |
Swiss identity smells like chocolate: Social identity shapes olfactory judgments
|
---|---|
Published in |
Scientific Reports, October 2016
|
DOI | 10.1038/srep34979 |
Pubmed ID | |
Authors |
Géraldine Coppin, Eva Pool, Sylvain Delplanque, Bastiaan Oud, Christian Margot, David Sander, Jay J. Van Bavel |
Abstract |
There is extensive evidence that social identities can shape people's attitudes and behavior, but what about sensory judgments? We examined the possibility that social identity concerns may also shape the judgment of non-social properties-namely, olfactory judgment. In two experiments, we presented Swiss and non-Swiss participants with the odor of chocolate, for which Switzerland is world-famous, and a control odor (popcorn). Swiss participants primed with Swiss identity reported the odor of chocolate (but not popcorn) as more intense than non-Swiss participants (Experiments 1 and 2) and than Swiss participants primed with individual identity or not primed (Experiment 2). The self-reported intensity of chocolate smell tended to increase as identity accessibility increased-but only among Swiss participants (Experiment 1). These results suggest that identity priming can counter-act classic sensory habituation effects, allowing identity-relevant smells to maintain their intensity after repeated presentations. This suggests that social identity dynamically influences sensory judgment. We discuss the potential implications for models of social identity and chemosensory perception. |
X Demographics
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Geographical breakdown
Country | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
United States | 3 | 11% |
France | 2 | 7% |
Canada | 1 | 4% |
Italy | 1 | 4% |
Estonia | 1 | 4% |
Netherlands | 1 | 4% |
Norway | 1 | 4% |
Switzerland | 1 | 4% |
Unknown | 16 | 59% |
Demographic breakdown
Type | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Members of the public | 19 | 70% |
Scientists | 7 | 26% |
Practitioners (doctors, other healthcare professionals) | 1 | 4% |
Mendeley readers
Geographical breakdown
Country | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Italy | 1 | 2% |
Switzerland | 1 | 2% |
Unknown | 53 | 96% |
Demographic breakdown
Readers by professional status | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Researcher | 11 | 20% |
Student > Ph. D. Student | 9 | 16% |
Student > Bachelor | 8 | 15% |
Student > Master | 5 | 9% |
Student > Doctoral Student | 3 | 5% |
Other | 8 | 15% |
Unknown | 11 | 20% |
Readers by discipline | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Psychology | 23 | 42% |
Neuroscience | 4 | 7% |
Agricultural and Biological Sciences | 2 | 4% |
Computer Science | 2 | 4% |
Medicine and Dentistry | 2 | 4% |
Other | 10 | 18% |
Unknown | 12 | 22% |