Klutky N
Institut für Psychologie der Johann Wolfgang Goethe-Universität Frankfurt.
Z Exp Angew Psychol. 1990;37(4):608-22.
The description of odors by basic sensual qualities proves to be rather difficult, as olfaction is a very complex matter that allows no simple schematization. While physiologists try to discover the biological bases of olfaction, psychologists consider the possibility of grouping odors by their perceptual qualities. Recent studies have shown that pleasantness is a basic dimension in judging odors. The present study was carried out to break pleasantness down to its various aspects, and thus to give a description of the very properties that make a pleasant odor smell pleasant. Sixty women and 40 men judged 10 odors by a list of 14 properties on rating scales. Significant correlations occurred between the average profiles of pleasant smells, characterizing them as mild, bright, conventional, harmonious, warm, clean, and soft. Unpleasant smells with their average profiles also highly correlated were often said to be pungent, dark, exciting, heavy, cold, hard, and disharmonious. All properties used on the list proved to be suitable for odor judging. The possibility of characterizing pleasant odors as well as unpleasant odors (despite their perception qualities) by elaborated profiles containing the various aspects of pleasantness is discussed.
通过基本感官特性来描述气味被证明是相当困难的，因为嗅觉是一个非常复杂的问题，无法进行简单的模式化。当生理学家试图发现嗅觉的生物学基础时，心理学家则考虑根据气味的感知特性对其进行分类的可能性。最近的研究表明，愉悦感是判断气味的一个基本维度。本研究旨在将愉悦感分解为其各个方面，从而描述使一种愉悦的气味闻起来令人愉悦的具体特性。60名女性和40名男性根据一份包含14种特性的列表，通过评分量表对10种气味进行评判。愉悦气味的平均特征之间存在显著相关性，其特征为温和、清新、传统、和谐、温暖、干净和柔和。不愉快气味的平均特征之间也高度相关，人们常说这些气味刺鼻、沉闷、刺激、浓重、寒冷、刺鼻和不和谐。列表中使用的所有特性都被证明适用于气味评判。本文还讨论了通过包含愉悦感各个方面的详细特征来描述愉悦气味以及不愉快气味（尽管它们有感知特性）的可能性。
