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Olfactory Comfort: Smelling a Partner's Clothing During Periods of Separation 1
Author(s) -
McBurney Donald H.,
Shoup Melanie L.,
Streeter Sybil A.
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
journal of applied social psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.822
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1559-1816
pISSN - 0021-9029
DOI - 10.1111/j.0021-9029.2006.00105.x
Subject(s) - clothing , psychology , social psychology , law , political science
We demonstrate for the first time that most women, and some men, deliberately smell their partners' clothing when they are apart. We asked undergraduate men and women who were, or who had ever been, in a committed heterosexual relationship if they had ever slept with an article of a partner's clothing or deliberately smelled a partner's clothing during periods of separation. Both men and women reported that smelling an absent partner's clothing made them feel happy, comfortable, and secure. We suggest that olfactory comfort is a significant component of attachment and is likely to involve family members other than partners.