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The motivation for perfume choice

A naive-psychological reinterpretation of findings in odor and perfume psychology

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The Psychological Basis of Perfumery

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Abstract

Advances in odor and perfume psychology have, paradoxically, been accompanied by a growing sense that we do not, as yet, know very much about the perceptions and the function of the sense of smell, about the psychological utility of perfumes or about the social importance of (cosmetic) fragrances. Hence, commonly used introductory phrases in articles and lectures about these subjects point to open questions or to limits to knowledge and caution against rash generalizations. Thus, Gschwind (1990) writes: ‘Few things have been scientifically proven, our knowledge is incomplete and no comprehensive theory is available.’ Klutky (1989) remarks that up till the present ‘but few psychological studies…have dealt explicitly with the sense of smell and its relation to other fields of research’, while Richardson and Zucco (1989) critically note that ‘psychological research…has paid very little attention to the olfactory modality.’

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Authors
  1. Rainer Dollase
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J. Stephan Jellinek

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© 1997 Chapman & Hall

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Dollase, R. (1997). The motivation for perfume choice. In: Jellinek, J.S. (eds) The Psychological Basis of Perfumery. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-1567-1_24

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-1567-1_24

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Print ISBN: 978-94-010-7200-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-009-1567-1

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