The Smell of Fear

A new study (we love new studies, don’t we?) suggests that ‘fear’ can actually be smelled and carries it’s own scent.  From Yahoo News:

“Moviegoers might want to scoff a bit less when characters talk about the scent of fear. Women exposed to fear chemicals in male sweat tended to see ambiguous faces as being more fearful, according to a new study.

Such research shows for the first time how even the smell of fear can affect how people interpret what they see right in front of them. That fits with previous studies showing that visual and facial cues can affect human emotion and interpretation - but mainly when the situation seems uncertain.”

How did this conclusion come about?  48 women were given the task of sniffing gauze dripping in man sweat.  I know.  That was a delightful use of words.  The guys wiped their sweat on the gauze as they watched horror flicks and comedy movies.  The ones that were used during the horror movies had a distinctly different smell than those that didn’t.

This study leaves the door open for plenty of comments and trickery.  My first question was “Who the heck sweats during movies?”  Followed by..”Did these guys actually keep the gauze where they were suppose to?”  Go ahead, laugh.  Being a 35 year-old male with an appreciation for adolescent humor, I would only get myself in trouble in this situation.  By the way, who would sign up to sniff man sweat??  My wife almost disowns me if I don’t shower by noon…

The next time you run that 2 miles before dark, ask yourself–”Was it really a good workout?  Or were you just scared?”  The answer may surprise you..

By the way, if this study is true, that there really is a scent of fear, it could explain why bears, sharks, tigers, snakes, etc. will attack without being totally provoked.  Just something to think about next time you run across that vicious bear in the woods…