Follow This: New study suggests fragrance’s essentiality
7.20.22
“Humans have deliberately scented their environment for purpose or pleasure for millennia. … Based on our three-factor framework we discuss the potential for scent to influence health and raise issues to consider …”
—The study authors
A new peer-reviewed study, led by scientists from Brown University, Boston College, and Stockholm University in collaboration with Procter & Gamble and the Fragrance Creators Association, establishes a critical framework for understanding why fragrance is an essential part of the human experience.
Citing over 150 previous scientific studies from around the world and surveys of those who use fragrances, the overview was published open access in Cognitive Research: Principles and Implications.
The authors classify fragrance’s benefits into three categories:
- functional;
- in-use experience; and
- emotional.
The role of scent—and the human ability to perceive it—has seen an increased focus over the last few years, given the heightened incidence of anosmia, the partial or complete loss of the sense of smell, a common symptom of earlier strains of Covid-19.
Read the paper, “A three-factor benefits framework for understanding consumer preference for scented household products: psychological interactions and implications for future development.”