How Your Nose Affects Your Love Life
By Dr. Christie Hartman. Posted on .
I've written many articles on the importance of eye contact in dating and attraction. I've also written about the importance of social skills and about touch — when (and where) it's okay to touch a date. However, I have never before discussed another important sense as it relates to attraction: smell.
Most people don't think of smell when they think about how one person is attracted to another. Other than avoiding too much strong cologne or sickeningly sweet perfume and observing basic hygiene, smell doesn't seem to factor much into the dating equation. And why would it? Humans are animals who haven't adapted to relying upon their sense of smell. Unlike dogs and other animals, we have more advanced vision and larger brains to help us survive. However, our sense of smell may have much more impact on our love lives than we realize.
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A recent study published in Biological Psychology examined the importance of smell in human attraction and relationships. Unlike some studies examining pheromones, an area not well understood in the human animal, this study focuses on the regular, run-of-the-mill sense of smell.
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According to this study, our nose is a very important factor in how we form relationships and is important for long-term commitment. To understand the importance of smell in dating and relationships, this study examines those born without a sense of smell. They analyzed data on men and women aged 18 to 46 with no sense of smell and compared it to a healthy control group with normal ability to smell. And the results are interesting. Keep reading ...
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