| 1. |
- Jones, Benedict C, et al.
(författare)
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To which world regions does the valence-dominance model of social perception apply?
- 2021
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Ingår i: Nature Human Behaviour. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2397-3374. ; 5:1, s. 159-169
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Over the past 10 years, Oosterhof and Todorov's valence-dominance model has emerged as the most prominent account of how people evaluate faces on social dimensions. In this model, two dimensions (valence and dominance) underpin social judgements of faces. Because this model has primarily been developed and tested in Western regions, it is unclear whether these findings apply to other regions. We addressed this question by replicating Oosterhof and Todorov's methodology across 11 world regions, 41 countries and 11,570 participants. When we used Oosterhof and Todorov's original analysis strategy, the valence-dominance model generalized across regions. When we used an alternative methodology to allow for correlated dimensions, we observed much less generalization. Collectively, these results suggest that, while the valence-dominance model generalizes very well across regions when dimensions are forced to be orthogonal, regional differences are revealed when we use different extraction methods and correlate and rotate the dimension reduction solution. PROTOCOL REGISTRATION: The stage 1 protocol for this Registered Report was accepted in principle on 5 November 2018. The protocol, as accepted by the journal, can be found at https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.7611443.v1 .
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| 2. |
- Andrighetto, Giulia, et al.
(författare)
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Changes in social norms during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic across 43 countries
- 2024
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Ingår i: Nature Communications. - : NATURE PORTFOLIO. - 2041-1723. ; 15:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The emergence of COVID-19 dramatically changed social behavior across societies and contexts. Here we study whether social norms also changed. Specifically, we study this question for cultural tightness (the degree to which societies generally have strong norms), specific social norms (e.g. stealing, hand washing), and norms about enforcement, using survey data from 30,431 respondents in 43 countries recorded before and in the early stages following the emergence of COVID-19. Using variation in disease intensity, we shed light on the mechanisms predicting changes in social norm measures. We find evidence that, after the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic, hand washing norms increased while tightness and punishing frequency slightly decreased but observe no evidence for a robust change in most other norms. Thus, at least in the short term, our findings suggest that cultures are largely stable to pandemic threats except in those norms, hand washing in this case, that are perceived to be directly relevant to dealing with the collective threat. Tightness-looseness theory predicts that social norms strengthen following threat. Here the authors test this and find that, after the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic, hand washing norms increased, but no evidence was observed for a robust change in most other norms.
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| 3. |
- Blomkvist, Anna, et al.
(författare)
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Should I Stay or Should I Go? Relationship satisfaction and the influence of attachment
- 2019
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Konferensbidrag (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Romantic relationships have been argued to function as attachment relationships, and the level of satisfaction with the relationship have been associated with one’s attachment style. Both attachment avoidance and anxiety have shown to be reliable predictors of relationship dissatisfaction. In this study, which were part of a screening process for couples’ therapy, 660 participants (330 both heterosexual and homosexual couples) completed a questionnaire regarding their attachment style (Experience of Close Relationships) and relationship satisfaction (Dyadic Adjustment Scale). Through structural equation modelling we found that relationship satisfaction was linked to both attachment avoidance (? = -.26) and anxiety (? = -.15) of one own, but only to partner avoidance (? = -.12). These findings are to some extent contradictory to previous research regarding the effect of partner attachment, by showing that specifically avoidance but not anxiety is linked to dissatisfaction.
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| 4. |
- Blomkvist, Anna, 1987-, et al.
(författare)
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The scent of monogamy : self-reported olfactory function predicts sexual well-being and infidelity in an Italian population
- 2022
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Ingår i: Archives of Sexual Behavior. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0004-0002 .- 1573-2800. ; 51:6, s. 2879-2889
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Previous studies have shown that olfactory function plays an essential role in the bonding of a romantic relationship. Body odors, in particular, seem involved in both mate choices and other intimate behaviors. Our sense of smell is also crucial to detect possible pathogen threats, by activating a suitable disgust reaction. Previous studies have shown that disgust sensitivity is negatively related to sociosexuality, and disgust generally inhibits our sexual drive. In the present study, we explored the possible relation between olfactory function, pathogen disgust sensitivity, sociosexuality, sexual well-being, and infidelity through a web survey. Our exploratory analyses found that, in a large Italian sample (N = 1107), among those in a stable relationship, self-reported olfactory function predicted sexual well-being (p < .05) and negatively predicted infidelity (p < .05) when controlling for other relevant sociodemographics variables. Moreover, the relation between self-reported olfactory function and sexual well-being was mediated by pathogen disgust sensitivity. Although significant, these results must be interpreted with caution, because the effect sizes were small.
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| 5. |
- Granqvist, Pehr, et al.
(författare)
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The scent of security : Odor of romantic partner alters subjective discomfort and autonomic stress responses in an adult attachment-dependent manner
- 2019
-
Ingår i: Physiology and Behavior. - : Elsevier BV. - 0031-9384 .- 1873-507X. ; 198, s. 144-150
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- When in a stressful situation, access to adult attachment figures (e.g., romantic partners) is an important means by which adults regulate stress responses. The practice of smelling a partner's worn garment is reported as a self-treatment against stress. Here, we experimentally determined whether exposure to a partner's body odor attenuates adults' subjective discomfort and psychophysiological responses, and whether such effects are qualified by adult attachment security. In a blocked design, participants (N = 34) were presented with their partner's body odor, their own body odor, the odor of a clean t-shirt and rose odor, while exposed to weak electric shocks to induce discomfort and stress responses. Results showed that partner body odor reduces subjective discomfort during a stressful event, as compared with the odor of oneself. Also, highly secure participants had attenuated skin conductance when exposed to partner odor. We conclude that partner odor is a scent of security, especially for attachment-secure adults.
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| 6. |
- Lindholm, Torun, et al.
(författare)
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Effort Cues Predict Eyewitness Accuracy
- 2019
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- We investigate whether retrieval effort cues are related to eyewitness accuracy, and the relative role of effort cues and witnesses’ confidence in predicting memory. The results demonstrate that verbal and paraverbal retrieval effort cues are strongly related to witnesses’ accuracy. Moreover, subjective confidence in memory rests on these cues.
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| 7. |
- Lindholm, Torun, et al.
(författare)
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Retrieval effort cues predict eyewitness accuracy
- 2018
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Ingår i: Journal of experimental psychology. Applied. - : American Psychological Association (APA). - 1076-898X .- 1939-2192. ; 24:4, s. 534-542
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Previous research has documented that correct eyewitness memories are more rapidly recalled and recognized than are incorrect ones, suggesting that retrieval ease is diagnostic of memory accuracy. Building on these findings, the current research explores whether verbal and paraverbal cues to retrieval effort could be used to determine the accuracy of honestly reported eyewitness statements about a crime event. Moreover, we examine the relative role of such effort cues and witnesses’ subjective confidence in predicting memory accuracy. The results of 2 studies demonstrate that objectively verifiable verbal and paraverbal cues to retrieval effort are strongly related to honest witnesses’ memory accuracy and that several of these cues contribute uniquely to predict accuracy. Moreover, we show that subjective confidence in a memory rests on these effort cues and that the cues mediate the confidence−accuracy relation. Given research showing that most people have vast difficulties in judging the quality of others’ memories, combined with the scarcity of research on predictors of genuinely reported memories, these initial findings suggest unexplored alternatives that may prove highly useful for improving accuracy judgments, with potentially far-reaching significance not the least in the legal context.
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| 8. |
- Liuzza, Marco Tullio, et al.
(författare)
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Body odor disgust sensitivity independently predicts authoritarian attitudes
- 2016
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Konferensbidrag (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The behavioral immune system (BIS) provides us a set of emotional and behavioral responses to avoid the threat of pathogens. Individual differences in BIS can make some individuals endorse social values that minimize the contact with groups that might be perceived unfamiliar or deviant. Disgust is one of the emotions that is most consistently involved in the BIS and it has been found to be consistently related to socially conservative attitudes. Disgust sensitivity to body odors plays a crucial role in the BIS but it has been largely understated by research linking disgust sensitivity. We the developed a new scale that measures individual differences in body odors disgust sensitivity (BODS) and assessed how this measure related to conservative attitudes. We hypothesized that the BODS should relate to social, but not economic, conservatism, as only the latter should share common motives with the BIS. Furthermore, we hypothesized that the BODS should share more core motives with conservatism and thus it should at least partially mediate the relationship between general disgust sensitivity measures and conservatism. We developed a 30 items measure of BODS where participants had to rate how they would feel disgusted in five different scenarios involving six body odors consistently linked to disease detection. We ran three studies (N = 200, N = 159 and N = 269) through Amazon Mechanical Turk where we collected participants’ differences in: BODS, three domains of disgust (TDD) (studies 1-3), disgust sensitivity (DS, studies 2-3), Perceived Vulnerability to Disease (PVD, studies 2-3) and in social conservatism (Right-Wing Authoritarianism RWA, studies 1-3) and economic conservatism (Social Dominance Orientation, SDO, study 3). We ran zero order correlations to assess the relationship between BODS, other Disgust Sensitivity measures and conservatism measures. Akaike Information Criterion based stepwise model selection procedures were used to identify the variables that mostly accounted for participants’ variance in conservatism. Mediation analyses were ran to test the hypothesis that BODS could mediate, at least partially the relationship between general disgust sensitivity measures and conservatism.Results: Across three studies we found that 1) BODS has good convergent validity with other measures of general disgust sensitivity (Studies 1-3) 2) BODS is consistently and independently related to RWA even when taking into account DS-R and/or TDD (Studies 1-3) 3) BODS relates to social, but not economic conservatism 4) BODS at least partially mediates the relationship between general disgust sensitivity measures and social conservatism (Studies 1-3). Our results show that body odor disgust sensitivity independently predicts socially conservative attitudes, and our findings suggest that the study of the biological basis of social attitudes would benefit from an increased focus on basic sensory-emotional processes. While our approach is broadly congruent with current theoretical frameworks emphasizing the evolutionary roots of disgust in basic chemosensory processes, an increased empirical focus on body odor perception might provide a unique link between pathogen detection and social regulation mechanisms.
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| 9. |
- Liuzza, Marco Tullio, et al.
(författare)
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Body Odor Disgust Sensitivity Predicts Moral Harshness Toward Moral Violations of Purity
- 2019
-
Ingår i: Frontiers in Psychology. - : Frontiers Media SA. - 1664-1078. ; 10
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Detecting pathogen threats and avoiding disease is fundamental to human survival. The behavioral immune system (BIS) framework outlines a set of psychological functions that may have evolved for this purpose. Disgust is a core emotion that plays a pivotal role in the BIS, as it activates the behavioral avoidance motives that prevent people from being in contact with pathogens. To date, there has been little agreement on how disgust sensitivity might underlie moral judgments. Here, we investigated moral violations of “purity” (assumed to elicit disgust) and violations of “harm” (assumed to elicit anger). We hypothesized that individual differences in BIS-related traits would be associated with greater disgust (vs. anger) reactivity to, and greater condemnation of Purity (vs. Harm) violations. The study was pre-registered (https://osf.io/57nm8/). Participants (N = 632) rated scenarios concerning moral wrongness or inappropriateness and regarding disgust and anger. To measure individual differences in the activation of the BIS, we used our recently developed Body Odor Disgust Scale (BODS), a BIS-related trait measure that assesses individual differences in feeling disgusted by body odors. In line with our predictions, we found that scores on the BODS relate more strongly to affective reactions to Purity, as compared to Harm, violations. In addition, BODS relates more strongly to Moral condemnation than to perceived Inappropriateness of an action, and to the condemnation of Purity violations as compared to Harm violations. These results suggest that the BIS is involved in moral judgment, although to some extent this role seems to be specific for violations of “moral purity,” a response that might be rooted in disease avoidance. Data and scripts to analyze the data are available on the Open Science Framework (OSF) repository: https://osf.io/tk4x5/. Planned analyses are available at https://osf.io/x6g3u/.
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| 10. |
- Liuzza, Marco Tullio, et al.
(författare)
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Body Odor Trait Disgust Sensitivity Predicts Perception of Sweat Biosamples
- 2017
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Ingår i: Chemical Senses. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0379-864X .- 1464-3553. ; 42:6, s. 479-485
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Body odors are potent triggers of disgust and regulate social behaviors in many species. The role of olfaction in disgust-associated behaviors has received scant attention in the research literature, in part because olfactory disgust assessments have required laboratory testing with odors. We have devised the Body Odor Disgust Scale (BODS) to facilitate research on olfactory disgust. In this study, we evaluated whether individual differences in BODS scores would be associated with the perception of disgust for sweat samples in a laboratory setting. Results show that BODS was a strong predictor of disgust ratings of sweat samples even when controlling for general disgust sensitivity. In contrast, odor intensity ratings were unrelated to BODS scores. Our findings suggest that the BODS scores reflect body odor disgust perception. The BODS scale might facilitate research on olfactory disgust responses and associated behaviors.
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| 11. |
- Liuzza, Marco Tullio, et al.
(författare)
-
Body odour disgust sensitivity predicts authoritarian attitudes
- 2018
-
Ingår i: Royal Society Open Science. - : The Royal Society. - 2054-5703. ; 5:2
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Authoritarianism has resurfaced as a research topic in political psychology, as it appears relevant to explain current political trends. Authoritarian attitudes have been consistently linked to feelings of disgust, an emotion that is thought to have evolved to protect the organism from contamination. We hypothesized that body odour disgust sensitivity (BODS) might be associated with authoritarianism, as chemo-signalling is a primitive system for regulating interpersonal contact and disease avoidance, which are key features also in authoritarianism. We used well-validated scales for measuring BODS, authoritarianism and related constructs. Across two studies, we found that BODS is positively related to authoritarianism. In a third study, we showed a positive association between BODS scores and support for Donald Trump, who, at the time of data collection, was a presidential candidate with an agenda described as resonating with authoritarian attitudes. Authoritarianism fully explained the positive association between BODS and support for Donald Trump. Our findings highlight body odour disgust as a new and promising domain in political psychology research. Authoritarianism and BODS might be part of the same disease avoidance framework, and our results contribute to the growing evidence that contemporary social attitudes might be rooted in basic sensory functions.
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| 12. |
- Liuzza, Marco Tullio, et al.
(författare)
-
The Body Odor Disgust Scale (BODS) : Development and Validation of a Novel Olfactory Disgust Assessment
- 2017
-
Ingår i: Chemical Senses. - : Oxford University Press. - 0379-864X .- 1464-3553. ; 42:6, s. 499-508
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Disgust plays a crucial role in the avoidance of pathogen threats. In many species, body odors provide important information related to health and disease, and body odors are potent elicitors of disgust in humans. With this background, valid assessments of body odor disgust sensitivity are warranted. In the present article, we report the development and psychometric validation of the Body Odor Disgust Scale (BODS), a measure suited to assess individual differences in disgust reaction to a variety of body odors. Collected data from 3 studies (total n = 528) show that the scale can be used either as a unidimensional scale or as a scale that reflects two hypothesized factors: sensitivity to one's own body odors versus those of others. Guided by our results, we reduced the scale to 12 items that capture the essence of these 2 factors. The final version of the BODS shows an excellent internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha s > 0.9). The BODS subscales show convergent validity with other general disgust scales, as well as with other olfactory functions measures and with aspects of personality that are related to pathogen avoidance. A fourth study confirmed the construct validity of the BODS and its measurement invariance to gender. Moreover, we found that, compared with other general disgust scales, the BODS is more strongly related to perceived vulnerability to disease. The BODS is a brief and valid assessment of trait body odor disgust sensitivity.
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| 13. |
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| 14. |
- Olofsson, Jonas, et al.
(författare)
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Body odor disgust scale (BODS) : Its validation and association with social biases
- 2019
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Ingår i: Chemical Senses. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0379-864X .- 1464-3553. ; 44:3, s. e8-e8
-
Tidskriftsartikel (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Body odors provide important social and health-related cues in many species. While human body odor perception often triggers feelings of disgust, few studies have investigated body odor disgust in a systematic way. We have developed the body odor disgust scale (BODS), a brief 12-item scale to assess the extent to which individuals are disgusted by common body odors such as sweat and urine. The scale development included both internal and external validation tests. We used the BODS in conjunction with scales measuring social attitudes and biases, and found consistent associations between high body odor disgust and stronger authoritarian attitudes, as well as more pronounced outgroup biases. Our work is consistent with the “behavioral immune system” framework, wherein social attitudes and political ideologies are shaped by perceived pathogen risk and disease avoidance via feelings of disgust. Body odor perception may thus not only be important for personal interactions, but may also be linked to social attitudes and political ideologies.
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| 15. |
- Parma, Valentina, et al.
(författare)
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More Than Smell—COVID-19 Is Associated With Severe Impairment of Smell, Taste, and Chemesthesis
- 2020
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Ingår i: Chemical Senses. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0379-864X .- 1464-3553. ; 45:7, s. 609-622
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Recent anecdotal and scientific reports have provided evidence of a link between COVID-19 and chemosensory impairments, such as anosmia. However, these reports have downplayed or failed to distinguish potential effects on taste, ignored chemesthesis, and generally lacked quantitative measurements. Here, we report the development, implementation, and initial results of a multilingual, international questionnaire to assess self-reported quantity and quality of perception in 3 distinct chemosensory modalities (smell, taste, and chemesthesis) before and during COVID-19. In the first 11 days after questionnaire launch, 4039 participants (2913 women, 1118 men, and 8 others, aged 19–79) reported a COVID-19 diagnosis either via laboratory tests or clinical assessment. Importantly, smell, taste, and chemesthetic function were each significantly reduced compared to their status before the disease. Difference scores (maximum possible change ±100) revealed a mean reduction of smell (−79.7 ± 28.7, mean ± standard deviation), taste (−69.0 ± 32.6), and chemesthetic (−37.3 ± 36.2) function during COVID-19. Qualitative changes in olfactory ability (parosmia and phantosmia) were relatively rare and correlated with smell loss. Importantly, perceived nasal obstruction did not account for smell loss. Furthermore, chemosensory impairments were similar between participants in the laboratory test and clinical assessment groups. These results show that COVID-19-associated chemosensory impairment is not limited to smell but also affects taste and chemesthesis. The multimodal impact of COVID-19 and the lack of perceived nasal obstruction suggest that severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus strain 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection may disrupt sensory-neural mechanisms.
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| 16. |
- Syrjänen, Elmeri, et al.
(författare)
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A Review of the Effects of Valenced Odors on Face Perception and Evaluation
- 2021
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Ingår i: i-Perception. - : Sage Publications. - 2041-6695. ; 12:2, s. 1-19
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- How do valenced odors affect the perception and evaluation of facial expressions? We reviewed 25 studies published from 1989 to 2020 on cross-modal behavioral effects of odors on the perception of faces. The results indicate that odors may influence facial evaluations and classifications in several ways. Faces are rated as more arousing during simultaneous odor exposure, and the rated valence of faces is affected in the direction of the odor valence. For facial classification tasks, in general, valenced odors, whether pleasant or unpleasant, decrease facial emotion classification speed. The evidence for valence congruency effects was inconsistent. Some studies found that exposure to a valenced odor facilitates the processing of a similarly valenced facial expression. The results for facial evaluation were mirrored in classical conditioning studies, as faces conditioned with valenced odors were rated in the direction of the odor valence. However, the evidence of odor effects was inconsistent when the task was to classify faces. Furthermore, using a z-curve analysis, we found clear evidence for publication bias. Our recommendations for future research include greater consideration of individual differences in sensation and cognition, individual differences (e.g., differences in odor sensitivity related to age, gender, or culture), establishing standardized experimental assessments and stimuli, larger study samples, and embracing open research practices.
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| 17. |
- Syrjänen, Elmeri, et al.
(författare)
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Do Valenced Odors and Trait Body Odor Disgust Affect Evaluation of Emotion in Dynamic Faces?
- 2017
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Ingår i: Perception. - : SAGE Publications. - 0301-0066 .- 1468-4233. ; 46:12, s. 1412-1426
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Disgust is a core emotion evolved to detect and avoid the ingestion of poisonous food as well as the contact with pathogens and other harmful agents. Previous research has shown that multisensory presentation of olfactory and visual information may strengthen the processing of disgust-relevant information. However, it is not known whether these findings extend to dynamic facial stimuli that changes from neutral to emotionally expressive, or if individual differences in trait body odor disgust may influence the processing of disgust-related information. In this preregistered study, we tested whether a classification of dynamic facial expressions as happy or disgusted, and an emotional evaluation of these facial expressions, would be affected by individual differences in body odor disgust sensitivity, and by exposure to a sweat-like, negatively valenced odor (valeric acid), as compared with a soap-like, positively valenced odor (lilac essence) or a no-odor control. Using Bayesian hypothesis testing, we found evidence that odors do not affect recognition of emotion in dynamic faces even when body odor disgust sensitivity was used as moderator. However, an exploratory analysis suggested that an unpleasant odor context may cause faster RTs for faces, independent of their emotional expression. Our results further our understanding of the scope and limits of odor effects on facial perception affect and suggest further studies should focus on reproducibility, specifying experimental circumstances where odor effects on facial expressions may be present versus absent.
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| 18. |
- Zakrzewska, Marta, et al.
(författare)
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Body odor disgust sensitivity (BODS) is related to extreme odor valence perception
-
Annan publikation (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Odors are important disease cues, and disgust sensitivity to body odors reflects individual differences in disease avoidance. The body odor disgust sensitivity scale (BODS) provides a rapid and valid assessment of individual differences. Nevertheless, little is yet known about how individual differences in BODS might correlate with overall odor perception. We investigated how BODS relates to perceptual ratings of pleasant and unpleasant odors. We aggregated data from 4 experiments (total N=190) that were conducted in our laboratory, and where valence and intensity ratings were collected. Unpleasant odors were body-like odors (e.g., sweat-like valeric acid), which may provide disease cues. Pleasant odors included those associated with hygiene (e.g., lilac; a common fragrance in soap). Across experiments, we show that individuals with higher BODS levels perceived smells as more highly valenced overall: unpleasant smells were rated as more unpleasant, and pleasant smells were rated as more pleasant. These results suggest that disease avoidance is reflected in odor valence perception. Furthermore, we found that disgust sensitivity to odors coming from external sources (e.g., someone else’s sweat) was the best predictor of odor valence ratings. The BODS scale has external validity as it reflects odor valence perception.
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| 19. |
- Zakrzewska, Marta, et al.
(författare)
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Body odor disgust sensitivity (BODS) is related to extreme odor valence perception
- 2023
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Ingår i: PLOS ONE. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1932-6203. ; 18:4
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Odors are important disease cues, and disgust sensitivity to body odors reflects individual differences in disease avoidance. The body odor disgust sensitivity (BODS) scale provides a rapid and valid assessment of individual differences. Nevertheless, little is known about how individual differences in BODS might correlate with overall odor perception or how it is related to other differences in emotional reactivity (e.g., affect intensity). We investigated how BODS relates to perceptual ratings of pleasant and unpleasant odors. We aggregated data from 4 experiments (total N = 190) that were conducted in our laboratory, and where valence and intensity ratings were collected. Unpleasant odors were body-like (e.g., sweat-like valeric acid), which may provide disease cues. The pleasant odors were, in contrast, often found in soap and cleaning products (e.g., lilac, lemon). Across experiments, we show that individuals with higher BODS levels perceived smells as more highly valenced overall: unpleasant smells were rated as more unpleasant, and pleasant smells were rated as more pleasant. These results suggest that body odor disgust sensitivity is associated with a broader pattern of affect intensity which causes stronger emotional responses to both negative and positive odors. In contrast, BODS levels were not associated with odor intensity perception. Furthermore, disgust sensitivity to odors coming from external sources (e.g., someone else's sweat) was the best predictor of odor valence ratings. The effects were modest in size. The results validate the BODS scale as it is explicitly associated with experimental ratings of odor valence.
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| 20. |
- Zakrzewska, Marta, et al.
(författare)
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Body odor disgust sensitivity is associated with prejudice towards a fictive group of immigrants
- 2019
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Ingår i: Physiology and Behavior. - : Elsevier BV. - 0031-9384 .- 1873-507X. ; 201, s. 221-227
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Why are certain individuals persistent in opposing immigration? The behavioral immune system framework implies that a psychological mechanism, which adapted to detect and avoid pathogen threats, is also reflected in contemporary social attitudes. Moreover, prejudice towards outgroups might be partially driven by implicit pathogen concerns related to the perceived dissimilarity with these groups' hygiene and food preparation practices. Disgust, a universal core emotion supposedly evolved to avoid pathogen threats, as well as olfaction, both play a pivotal role in evoking disgust. In an online study (N = 800), we investigated whether individual differences in body odor disgust sensitivity (BODS) correlate with negative attitudes towards a fictive refugee group. The data analysis plan and hypotheses were preregistered. Results show that body odor disgust sensitivity is associated with xenophobia: BODS was positively associated with negative attitudes towards the fictive group. This relationship was partially mediated by perceived dissimilarities of the group in terms of hygiene and food preparation. Our finding suggests prejudice might be rooted in sensory mechanisms.
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| 21. |
- Zakrzewska, Marta, et al.
(författare)
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Body odor disgust sensitivity is associated with xenophobia: Evidence from 9 countries
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Annan publikation (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Body odor disgust sensitivity (BODS) reflects a behavioral disposition to avoid pathogens, and it may also involve social attitudes. Among participants in the USA, high levels of BODS were associated with stronger xenophobia towards a fictitious refugee group. To test the generalizability of this finding, we analyzed data from 9 countries across five continents (N = 6836). Using structural equation modeling, we found support for our preregistered hypotheses: higher BODS levels were associated with more xenophobic attitudes; this relationship was partially explained by perceived dissimilarities of the refugees’ norms regarding hygiene and food preparation, and general attitudes toward immigration. Our results support a theoretical notion of how pathogen avoidance is associated with social attitudes: “traditional norms” often involve behaviors that limit inter-group contact, social mobility and situations that might lead to pathogen exposure. Our results also indicate that the positive relationship between BODS and xenophobia is robust across cultures.
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| 22. |
- Zakrzewska, Marta, 1987-
(författare)
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Olfaction and prejudice : The role of body odor disgust sensitivity and disease avoidance in understanding social attitudes
- 2022
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Disease avoidance is one of the main roles of olfaction. In particular, body odors are universal elicitors of disgust, a core emotion that plays a key role in disease avoidance. The disease avoidance theoretical framework emphasizes psychological mechanisms – attitudes and behaviors – aiming to recognize and evade pathogen threats. Thus, it focuses on behavioral immune defenses and disgust, which often evokes such attitudes and behaviors. Importantly, the quality of body odors changes with sickness, and thus olfactory disease detection is possible. Body odor disgust sensitivity (BODS) might reflect a behavioral disposition to avoid pathogens, and it may also involve social attitudes that prefer limited contact with strangers. The general aim of this thesis was to investigate the connection between olfaction, (body) odor disgust, and social attitudes from the perspective of disease avoidance.In Study I, I investigated the relationship between disgust sensitivity to body odors and prejudice. Using an online survey, I found that high levels of BODS were associated with stronger prejudice towards a fictitious refugee group and that this relationship was partially explained by perceiving the group as different in terms of food, hygiene, and sanitary practices. In Study II, I looked at the association between olfactory stimulation, BODS, and implicit bias toward an outgroup. BODS levels were positively related to implicit bias towards an outgroup; however, this bias was not affected by olfactory cues. In Study III, I aimed to see if the relationship between BODS and prejudice generalizes across different cultures and locations. I found that higher BODS levels were associated with more prejudiced attitudes towards a fictitious refugee group across nine countries on all continents. As in Study I, this relationship was partially explained by perceived dissimilarities of the refugees’ norms regarding hygiene and food preparation, and general attitudes toward immigration. In Study IV, I investigated the relationship between the self-reported body odor disgust and perception of real odors, showing that individuals with higher BODS levels perceived smells as more highly valenced overall: unpleasant smells were rated as more unpleasant, and pleasant smells were rated as more pleasant.Overall, the research presented in this thesis supports the idea that there is a link between olfactory disgust and prejudice, which can be explained by disease avoidance behaviors.
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| 23. |
- Zakrzewska, Marta Zuzanna, et al.
(författare)
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An Overprotective Nose? Implicit Bias Is Positively Related to Individual Differences in Body Odor Disgust Sensitivity
- 2020
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Ingår i: Frontiers in Psychology. - : Frontiers Media SA. - 1664-1078. ; 11
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Body odors are universal elicitors of disgust, a core emotion that plays a key role in the behavioral immune system (BIS) - a set of psychological functions working to avoid disease. Recent studies showed that body odor disgust sensitivity (BODS) is associated with explicit xenophobia and authoritarianism. In the current experimental pre-registered study (), we investigated the association between olfactory pathogen cues, BODS and implicit bias toward an outgroup (tested by an implicit association test). Results show that BODS is positively related to implicit bias toward an outgroup, suggesting that social attitudes may be linked to basic chemosensory processes. These attitudes were not influenced by background odors. Additionally, BODS was related to social, but not economic conservatism. This study extends the BIS framework to an experimental context by focusing on the role of disgust and body odors in shaping implicit bias.
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| 24. |
- Zakrzewska, Marta Z., et al.
(författare)
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Body odour disgust sensitivity is associated with xenophobia : evidence from nine countries across five continents
- 2023
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Ingår i: Royal Society Open Science. - : The Royal Society Publishing. - 2054-5703. ; 10:4
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Body odour disgust sensitivity (BODS) reflects a behavioural disposition to avoid pathogens, and it may also involve social attitudes. Among participants in the USA, high levels of BODS were associated with stronger xenophobia towards a fictitious refugee group. To test the generalizability of this finding, we analysed data from nine countries across five continents (N = 6836). Using structural equation modelling, we found support for our pre-registered hypotheses: higher BODS levels were associated with more xenophobic attitudes; this relationship was partially explained by perceived dissimilarities of the refugees' norms regarding hygiene and food preparation, and general attitudes toward immigration. Our results support a theoretical notion of how pathogen avoidance is associated with social attitudes: ‘traditional norms’ often involve behaviours that limit inter-group contact, social mobility and situations that might lead to pathogen exposure. Our results also indicate that the positive relationship between BODS and xenophobia is robust across cultures.
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