Abstract

There has been wide debate about the degree to which humans are impacted by olfaction. Despite former assumptions that we are dominantly visual/auditory creatures, recent studies suggest that humans are more highly macrosmatic than originally thought. Humans have demonstrated behavioral, physiological, cognitive and affective responses to olfactory stimuli even when the stimuli were perceived unconsciously. The mechanism by which humans perceive these signals is unclear; there is much debate as to whether the vomeronasal organ is functional in humans. Regardless of the mechanism of perception, it is clear olfaction is psychologically impactful for humans. The following literature review summarizes research in the field related to olfactory functioning and perception. The review discusses animals and their interactions with and use of olfactory cues, the human olfactory system, parallels among animals and humans in reactions to odorants, human sensitivity to odorants, and the vomeronasal organ debate. Human research areas included in the review: human-odorant interaction, odor as an identification marker for individual humans, human psychological response to odors, the impact of odor on human affect and sexual behavior, odor production and preference linked to human characteristics, and the effect of odor on human learning.

LLU Discipline

Psychology

Department

Psychology

School

School of Behavioral Health

First Advisor

Jenkins, Louis

Second Advisor

Kirby, Michael

Third Advisor

Sonne, Janet

Degree Name

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

Degree Level

Psych.D.

Year Degree Awarded

2015

Date (Title Page)

6-2015

Language

English

Library of Congress/MESH Subject Headings

Humans; Olfactory Perception; Receptors - Odorant; Sense Organs; Smell - Psychology; Pheromones - Human; Follicle Stimulating Hormone; Evoked Potentials - Somatosensory

Subject - Local

Olfaction; Psychological Impact; Odorants; Human Sensitivity to Odorants; Vomeronasal Organ Debate

Type

Doctoral Project

Page Count

69

Digital Format

PDF

Digital Publisher

Loma Linda University Libraries

Usage Rights

This title appears here courtesy of the author, who has granted Loma Linda University a limited, non-exclusive right to make this publication available to the public. The author retains all other copyrights.

Collection

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Collection Website

http://scholarsrepository.llu.edu/etd/

Repository

Loma Linda University. Del E. Webb Memorial Library. University Archives

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