People with sharper senses of smell really have a nose for relating to others' emotions, new research suggests.
— Read all about it at Better Smellers are More Sympathetic, Study Says at National Geographic. Many thanks to Sarah for the link!
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Very interesting. On a very small, anecdotal level, I notice that the one of my three children who has a more sensitive nose – and by that I mean he can identify some notes and describe a scent’s overall feel – is also the one who is most alert to the emotions of other people. I call him “my noticer.”
I was wondering if they didn’t have it backwards…that is, people who are sensitive to others emotions might be more likely to notice how they smell? But who knows. These things are hard to establish.
Sniffers more sensitive? Tell that to Thierry Wasser. 😉
Maybe sniffers and sensitives have an overlap segment.
That’s it!
I wonder if that means they can smell their emotions. Mind fodder.
Indeed.
Eee I’m so excited you posted this!
The reason I thought it was so interesting was how we’re always talking about the connection between scent and emotion– that is, the strong emotional memories evoked by a certain scent we wore during a particular time in our lives, or the idea of a “comfort” perfume or even aspirational perfume; the way a scent can make us feel a little bit closer to how we want to be.
I wasn’t surprised to see there was a connection!
–Sarah
Glad you liked it!
Funny about the ants. Does that mean that those of us reading this blog are also more likely to be able to sniff out (and then attack!) cheaters too?!!!
Yes, I liked that article too! I wonder…